Being right in front of 10 people can cost you more than being wrong in private. CEOs need to care for uncovering their blind spots.

Once, a CEO was in a meeting with seven people, including vendors, and his own team. It was a status review call when one of his team members spoke up and said, “We agreed on X in the last meeting.”

The CEO knew that wasn’t true. In fact, it was exactly the opposite of what they had decided. So he opened his laptop, pulled up the minutes, and shared his screen for everyone to see.

The team member was wrong. The CEO was right. There was nothing left to say.

The meeting moved on.

When the CEO shared this incident with me during a coaching session, he didn’t understand why I kept asking questions around it. He had corrected an error. He had proof. What was the problem?

I invited him to reflect : “How do you think your team member felt in that moment?”
Silence.

“What every other team member present there would have felt?”
Silence.

“Was there a better way to handle that situation?”
Yes.

Clearly this was a blind spot for the CEO.  He thought he did the right thing. He had no visibility of the damage he was doing.

Blind spots exist. They keep showing up. CEOs need to be on the lookout. And keep uncovering them as they lead. They deserve a CEO Coach to support them here!

About the Author:

PK Narayanan is a CEO Coach based in Bengaluru, supporting CEOs, Founders and Business Owners Scale-up their Leadership Impact.

#ceo #scaleup #business #leadership #leadershipimpact #leadershippresencecoach

Connect with me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Facebook
Access Videos and Subscribe my YouTube channel
Listen to my podcasts