Leadership myopia is real, and your managers most likely suffer from it.
Although positions of power and fancy corner offices have their perks, they come at the cost of more intimate connections with the organizational reality below. As a result, CEOs and other high ranking officers are particular susceptible to being blindsided unless they make concerted efforts to be informed.
Even then, swathes of overtly compliant ‘yes men’ and the Potemkin village phenomena can conspire against them, leading to inaccurate perspectives on their organization’s state and performance.
Recall for example how Wells Fargo’s fake accounts scandal in 2016 had been years in the making much to the surprise of then-CEO John G. Stumpf or how Volkswagen’s past CEO Martin Winterkorn has claimed that the company’s malfeasance with diesel engine tests was happening without his knowledge.
As leaders, we all want, and need, to do better. Below, we’ll go through three psychological barriers to truth and we’ll explore tangible practices you can adopt to ensure that you learn from the history of myopic leadership instead of simply repeating it.
Defy Confirmation Bias And Break Your Echo Chambers
Confirmation bias is the psychological tendency to seek out and interpret new information in ways that conform with your pre-existing beliefs.
For leaders, this means gravitating towards data, feedback, or opinions that align with their current perspectives. All of us are prone to give airtime to yes men over devil’s advocates, but doing so comes at the expense of depriving us from divergent or contradictory views.
It is exactly these divergent views that leaders should pay particularly closely attention to, particularly when they arise from their own organization. Excluding inconvenient truths and uncomfortable speculations from executive decision-making creates an echo chamber where ideas are reiterated and reinforced, leading to a narrow, stale and ultimately flawed understanding of the organization’s reality.
Breaking one’s echo chambers can be mentally straining, but in terms of tangible actions there are numerous ways to get started without much effort.
For example, establishing ‘shadow boards’, opening key decisions to candid views from a broad range of internal stakeholders from frontline employees to middle management and external advisors and being honest about open-door policies are great ways to generate a more holistic view with little effort.
Leaders should also actively foster a culture of productive dissent where team members feel safe to voice differing opinions and are encouraged to do so. To get started, ask someone to play out devil’s advocate perspectives during meetings if no one takes on the role on their own.
Keep Overconfidence In Check
While overconfidence has undoubtedly propelled many leaders to their current positions, it’s essential to recognize its double-edged nature.
On one hand, a strong belief in one’s abilities can inspire teams, drive ambitious projects, and foster a can-do culture. On the other, it can blind leaders to potential pitfalls, making them dismissive of risks and deaf to dissenting voices. The very trait that might have catalyzed a leader’s rise can, if unchecked, lead to their downfall.
Thankfully, overconfidence is not a fixed trait. Instead, it is a mindset that can be adjusted if one is ready to put the prerequisite effort into it.
By recognizing its potential dangers and actively working to balance confidence with humility, leaders can navigate the complex landscape of leadership more effectively.
It’s a continuous journey of self-awareness, where the goal isn’t to simply diminish one’s confidence but to ensure that the confidence we have is rooted in reality and complemented by a genuine understanding of our strengths and limitations.
One of the most effective ways to counter overconfidence is by actively seeking and listening to feedback. You can get started by scheduling sounding-board sessions where external advisors, mentors or calling upon your own team members across various levels to share views on your plans and strategies anonymously without fear of retribution.
Another way to keep your overconfidence in check is to dedicate time for self-reflection. Whether it’s through journaling, meditation, or simply setting aside quiet time to think, reflecting on decisions, actions, and their outcomes can provide valuable insights. It’s an opportunity to celebrate successes, learn from mistakes, and recalibrate one’s confidence levels to match more closely with reality.
Overcome The Fear of Vulnerability
Leaders often believe that admitting to uncertainty or a lack of knowledge will be perceived as a sign of weakness. This fear is a key driver of leadership myopia, preventing leaders from acknowledging mistakes, being open to feedback or seeking help when they clearly need it.
The key unlock here is to understand how vulnerability is a strength when it is coupled with competence. Authentic leaders who admit to their flaws can gain more respect and trust from their teams than leaders who project unrealistic and alienating images of perfection.
Overcoming one’s fear of vulnerability is also the first step to adopting a growth mindset where challenges and mistakes are embraced as valuable learning opportunities. Leaders who encourage this mindset throughout the organization will create cultures where continuous improvement is valued over perfection, leading to more psychological safety and a lower risk of leadership being uninformed of the state of the organization.
While leadership comes with its inherent blind spots, being aware of these psychological barriers and actively working to overcome them can lead to more informed, effective, and authentic leadership. The journey towards self-awareness and continuous improvement is ongoing, but the rewards, both for leaders and their organizations, are immeasurable.
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