"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."

-Carl Jung

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Key Takeaways:

1. Blind spots are traits about yourself that you are not aware of, unconscious of, cannot see.

• Although an individual will likely have difficulty noticing their own blind spots, the blind spots may be obvious to others.

• Most people think of blind spots as being "negative", however, an individual may also be blind to their strengths or "positive" traits.

2. It is critically important for leaders to become aware of their blind spots, so that they can proactively address them, rather then being subject to them. What someone doesn't know can in fact hurt them.

• Because leaders have a larger span of control than individual contributors, a leaders' blind spots have the potential to impact significant numbers of people within their organization.

3. There are a number of tools, techniques, and practices to become aware of your own blind spots.

Here are a few. Please note that their are many more than the ones listed below...these are just some of my current favorites:

1. Ask someone for feedback

2. Self-Inquiry

3. Self-Awareness Tools

4. Assessments

5. Coaching

4. Resources / Links

Noteworthy Articles

• Harvard Business Review - https://hbr.org/2020/11/dont-get-blindsided-by-your-blind-spots

• Harvard Business School - https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/blind-spots-were-not-as-ethical-as-we-think

• Fast Company - https://www.fastcompany.com/40477399/how-to-recognize-your-blind-spots-before-they-derail-your-career

• Psychology Today - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/conversational-intelligence/201705/blind-spots

Free Assessments

• Positive Intelligence

• Free PQ Score assessment - https://assessment.positiveintelligence.com/pq/overview

• Free Saboteur assessment - https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/

• Note: I am a mental fitness coach trained by Shirzad Chamine and the Positive Intelligence team. I am happy to walk through the results of these assessments with you. To schedule a free strategy session go here: https://coach.radiantperformancecoaching.com/

• Other

• Free Myers-Briggs type assessment - https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

• Free DISC assessment - https://www.crystalknows.com/disc-personality-test

• Free Strengths Finder assessment (not sure if there is still a free version) - https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253676/how-cliftonstrengths-works.aspx

• Free Enneagram assessment - https://assessment.yourenneagramcoach.com/

Coaching

• Radiant Performance Coaching - https://www.radiantperformancecoaching.com

Self-Awareness Tools

• Johari Window

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window

• https://www.mindtools.com/au7v71d/the-johari-window

• Nathaniel Branden Sentence Completion Exercises

• #1 - https://nathanielbranden.com/sentence-completion-i/

• #2 - https://nathanielbranden.com/sentence-completion-ii/

• Shadow Work (very serious, challenging, and often difficult inner work)

• Robert Augustus Masters

• https://www.robertmasters.com/breakthrough-shadowwork/

• https://www.facebook.com/robertaugustusmasters

• Robert A. Johnson

• https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Robert_A._Johnson_(psychotherapist)

• https://www.amazon.com/Owning-Your-Own-Shadow-Understanding/dp/0062507540