Leadership Blind Spots: How Successful Leaders Identify and Overcome the Weaknesses That Matter

It’s in the nature of increased responsibilities that leaders have to manage difficult relationships and decisions. Yet most leaders are blind to their own shortcomings — those nuggets of “unconscious incompetence” that limit performance. Typical blind spots in leadership, including micromanagement, unclear expectations, lack of empathy and being inefficient at prioritising, can lead to feedback gaps and hidden behaviours that impact team dynamics and an organisation’s success.

When we increase our awareness, we can read one another better and make our patterns visible. Much of our behaviour lives in the 60% we don’t show consciously. In this article, I explore these blind spots and how executive coaching can help cast light on these patterns to create healthier leadership styles and more positive organisational cultures.

Blinded to the Blind Spots of Leadership

Leaders’ blind spots relate to unconscious biases or habits that can hinder them from seeing how they are impacting others. These are often reflected in their “leadership shadow” — the unintended impact a leader’s style can have on team morale and engagement. Research from the Harvard Business Review tells us that 67% of employees claim they would work harder if they felt their leaders noticed and appreciated them more. This is a reminder of how critical self-awareness is for leaders: without the ability to understand and see ourselves as others do, we will ultimately drive our teams away.

The Issue: Leadership Recurring Blind Spots

• Overcontrol: Micromanaging leaders often interfere with subordinates being able to make decisions. This not only results in lower morale, it also stifles innovation. A recent study found that when they don’t feel micromanaged, 75% of employees are more motivated.
• Vague Expectations: Fuzzy or unclear understandings of roles and goals can inhibit team progress. People succeed significantly more often when expectations are clear.
• Cold-Heartedness: Bosses who are not empathetic directly contribute to disengaged employees. The Center for Creative Leadership discovered that leaders who show more empathy experience much lower turnover than those with low empathy.
• Inefficient Prioritisation: Clouds and confusion in the environment add up so the team can feel disorientated and do less. Simple tools like the Eisenhower Matrix help clarify what is urgent versus what is important — yet many leaders fail to use them consistently.

The Consequences of Ignoring the Blind Spots

Failing to tackle these blind spots can have serious ramifications:

• Reduced Engagement and Retention: Unresolved blind spots can lead to disengagement, which in turn increases employee turnover.
• Leadership Fatigue: Leading without awareness is exhausting and can contribute to burnout and cynicism in leaders.
• Siloed Teams: A lack of communication and absence of clear expectations can result in isolated groups with little collaboration.
• Reduced Pace of Innovation: Creativity and innovation suffer in environments of micromanagement and low trust.

Five Steps to Enhance Self-Awareness and Decrease Blind Spots

Step 1: Modern Courtesy School, Part 1 – Sit Down and Be Quiet

Active listening requires you to really listen to what’s being said by others and respond in kind. This approach helps leaders understand their team better and identify communication breakdowns earlier.

Exercise: Schedule regular one-to-ones where your primary task is to listen and summarise what the team member is telling you, before you offer advice or solutions.

Step 2: Request Feedback

Ask for feedback — and request that it be honest. Developing a culture of welcoming candid feedback can close leadership feedback gaps. Use anonymous surveys or feedback tools to collect information from teammates about their view of your leadership style. This often reveals blind spots you would not see on your own.

Step 3: Cultivate Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the capability to recognise and manage one’s own emotions and those of others. Consider training, coaching, or workshops aimed at improving EI. Leaders with higher emotional intelligence create better team climates and are correlated with higher overall satisfaction and performance.

Step 4: Establish Expectations – and Stick to Them

Avoid ambiguity: spell out roles, goals, and expectations. Use project management or team collaboration tools so responsibilities and deadlines are visible to everyone. Frequent check-ins to reinforce and adjust expectations help prevent frustration and misalignment.

Step 5: Adopt Flexible Leadership Styles

Recognising that different situations require different leadership styles can prevent the pitfall of overcontrol. Blending directing, coaching, supporting and delegating approaches empowers team members and raises performance. Assessment tools can help you understand your default style and broaden your range.

In the Flesh: A True Transformation Tale

Consider a mid-level manager at a technology company who participated in an executive coaching programme to work on his controlling behaviour. Through coaching, he recognised the impact of his leadership shadow on his team. Over six months, after shifting to a more empowering style, his team’s engagement scores rose by around 30%, and conflict reduced noticeably. “Learning how my actions impact others was eye-opening — the coaching programme enabled me to lead with intention and empathy,” he later shared.

Conclusion & Next Steps

Self-awareness helps leaders fulfil their potential and improve the culture of their teams and organisations. Identifying blind spots is not just a personal development exercise; it’s a strategic lever for team performance, creativity and long-term success.

For further information on how executive coaching can support your leadership development approach, browse our resources:

• Visit our Executive Coaching page to see how we can support your leaders.
• Explore our Leadership Training programmes to strengthen leadership skills across levels.
• Read more stories on motivation, conflict resolution and systemic leadership.

Ready to work on your own blind spots and leadership impact? Book a call to explore a tailored coaching approach for you or your leadership team.