"It's not what you don't know that will hurt you, it's what

you think you know ... that just ain't so."

Satchel Paige

 

A mental blind spot describes a condition where we are unable to see or recognize something that clearly exists within us or our environment. The term is adapted from the concept of a visual blind spot that drivers often experience. For someone driving an automobile, blind spots are those areas of the road that cannot usually be seen while looking forward or through either the rear-view or side mirrors, the most common being the areas towards the rear of the vehicle on both sides. Similarly, we all have mental blind spots regarding how we perceive ourselves and the world around us which serve as barriers to our being able to see what is real, reasonable, advantageous and rewarding in our particular circumstances. Mental blind spots can be so strong and entrenched that they can frequently have a powerful influence in creating frustrating scenarios and consequences.

 

The Role of the Subconscious Mind

 

Our mental blind spots are the product of our subconscious thoughts and beliefs. Whether for good or bad, most of us have become mentally conditioned to certain ways of thinking. Each of us has a set of deep-rooted beliefs that are continually at work within us shaping our thought patterns and directing the behavior which ultimately determine the outcome of our lives. Many of these beliefs are regularly reinforced, strengthened and nurtured by those we encounter daily in our lives. This is why we often find ourselves recreating the same scenarios in our life over and over again despite our best efforts to change. There might be variations in how they appear, but they are essentially the same and until we change the thought patterns that are responsible for them, they will continue to repeat over and over again. Mental blind spots can inhibit the progress of an individual, a group or an entire organization.

 

Having a mental blind spot is not the same as lacking the necessary knowledge for success in a particular endeavor. It is more of an inability or unwillingness to see, acknowledge or accept information that is a vital for achieving a stated objective. If a person knows what he or she doesn't know, such a person can take steps to obtain the necessary knowledge. However, if a person doesn't know what he or she doesn't know, then such a person won't have a clue as to how to proceed and can clearly be said to have a success-limiting mental blind spot.  A person may claim he or she is committed to a particular goal, for example, and actually work conscientiously toward it's achievement, but if deep down the person doesn't genuinely possess the self confidence for the task (blind spot), true success is unlikely.

 

More about self-confidence 

 

Mental blind spots can be classified into two categories: those things that we can't see and those things we won't see.

 

What We Can't See

 

The first type of mental blind spot results from the power of habitual thinking patterns. Being exposed to a particular idea, concept or belief over time causes it to become entrenched within us. We can become so attached to an idea that we fail to see the commanding realities that refute the idea which exist right under our noses. Our focus is locked on to a particular concept with such intensity that we block everything else from view or consciousness. We all know people who are constantly facing the same problems, making the same mistakes and never learning from their past missteps and misfortunes. They just can't seem to see how they could possibly do something any differently.

 

Mental blind spots rooted in habitual thinking have affected entire industries. Prior to the 1970s, the Swiss watch manufacturers had 90% of the world's watch market. During the following decade, Swiss engineers developed quartz oscillator technology and offered it to the Swiss watch industry, but the Swiss watchmakers rejected it out of hand. They were so intellectually and emotionally wedded to the idea that a watch had to have mechanical springs and gears that they had a mental blind spot for any other kind of watch mechanism. They simply could not conceive that people would ever want a watch made in such an untraditional manner. Unfortunately for the Swiss watch industry, others outside of Switzerland were not blind to the new quartz technology, and thus began the decline of Swiss dominance in watchmaking.

 

Similarly, sales managers who adamantly believe that the ability to close hard and often is the key to a salesperson's success are blind to the fact that many prospects instinctively reject such sales tactics and much prefer a more low-pressure, consultative selling approach. While the evidence clearly exists that their thinking is flawed, they are blind to any sales concept that differs from what they were taught and have practiced throughout their careers.

 

What We Won't See

 

The second type of mental blind spot results from a condition in which we subconsciously ignore realities that clearly exist. When we examine the joys and successes of our lives, it is easy for us to see how we have brought them about, and we are happy to accept responsibility for them. But when it comes to the mistakes and failures in our lives, it is a different story. We want to distance ourselves from having played a role in causing them, and are often blind to how we planted the seeds for their happening in the first place. This kind of mental blind spot also applies to our judgment of others. Especially if we have strong emotional ties to them, we tend to emphasize their strengths and overlook their weaknesses.

 

Unfortunately, it's human nature to see what we want to see and hear only what we want to hear. When we have a strong desire for something to happen we tend to ignore the negatives that surface or rationalize them away. We only see the positives and sometimes even exaggerate the positives because we so strongly desire what we want to happen. For example, a person may outwardly desire to achieve a certain goal, but may subconsciously feel that he or she really doesn't possess the managerial skill to achieve it. Such a person is mentally blind to a major personal obstacle that stands in the path of his or her success. The obstacle may be there for all the world to see, but the subconscious ignores it or pretends it doesn't exist because such a realization is not consistent with what the person wants.

 

Identifying Your Blind Spots

 

In order to create more of what we want for our lives, and eliminate what we don't want, we must become fully aware of our mental blind spots and work to see beyond them. But how can we deal with our mental blind spots if we are blind to them? What can we do if we don't know what we don't know?

 

There are a couple of clues that can suggest the existence of success-limiting mental blind spots. Fear is an indicator that a mental blind spot may be getting in the way of success. It may be a sign that there is a belief in one's subconscious that conflicts with his or her actions and is, therefore, making the person anxious and unsure. A strongly ingrained, habitual pattern of thinking may also conceal mental blind spots.

 

We each have unique mental blind spots. The only real way to deal with them is to involve the help of others. Gaining the perspective of others is essential to distinguishing who you think you are from who you really are. We cannot do it alone. Avoid seeking the help of friends or relatives. Such individuals are usually too close to you and their insights would likely be flavored by their feelings more than by their objective analysis. Enlisting the help of an unbiased mentor or coach is probably the most effective approach. Identifying and communicating blind spots, after all, is the essence of coaching.

 

Making Sense of Coaching

 

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The topic of employee engagement has been around for several years now. Many studies have been conducted on it and much has been written about it. The consensus of all the research seems to indicate that engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, more customer-focused, safer, and less likely to leave their employer.

 

However, it turns out that each of the employee engagement research studies undertaken over the past few years has defined the term differently, and as a result, came up with different key drivers (26 in all) and different implications.

 

Of the many definitions of employee engagement that have been proposed, we favor the one offered by the Conference Board, an international non-profit business membership and research organization, which defines it as "a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work".

 

One finding all the studies have in common, however, is the vital role managers play in determining subordinates' levels of engagement. In fact, almost all of the studies found that the relationship with one's manager is the strongest of all factors that influence employee engagement, a fact that far too many organizations fail to appreciate. The result is that often times managers focus primarily on using people to get things done rather than getting their people to want to do things. In the words of Peter Drucker, business guru, author and business professor,

"But I like to think that a lot of managers and executives trying to solve problems miss the forest for the trees by forgetting to look at their people-not at how much more they can get from their people or how they can more effectively manage their people. I think they need to look a little more closely at what it's like for their people to come to work there every day."

While many individuals and many factors within an organization come into play in regard to employee engagement, the person who has the most significant impact on an employee's attitude toward his or her job, the organization, other employees and customers is the employee's manager. Every person has different reasons for working. These reasons are as individual as the person, but everyone works because they obtain something they need from their job. The manager is the primary individual responsible for uncovering each worker's unique needs and striving on behalf of the organization to satisfy those needs.

 

Five Key Drivers of Employee Engagement

 

The following five drivers of employee engagement top most lists, and each is directly affected by a manager's behavior.

• Trust and Integrity - This reflects the degree to which an employee believes the organization will be forthright, fair and honest in all dealings with him or her. The manager's words and actions will be the primary conduit through which this will be communicated.


• Employee Development - This is a measure of the extent an employee believes the organization is making an effort to develop the employee's skills. Employees value measures that are taken to make them more effective and valuable contributors to an organization's productivity. Managers are usually the decision-makers when it comes to providing opportunities for personal and professional growth.


• Career Growth Opportunities - Employees are often more motivated and engaged if they feel career advancement opportunities are available. It is the responsibility of the manager to determine if an employee seeks advancement and to help prepare those that do to assume new career duties.


• Company Pride - An employee that takes pride in his work and his organization usually derives a significant amount of self-esteem by being associated with it. It is very unusual for employees to exhibit company pride if they do not have positive relationships with their managers.


• Rewards and Recognition - Employees who receive appropriate reward and recognition for their contributions tend to be more highly engaged than those who do not. Rewards and recognition convey acknowledgement and appreciation and makes an employee feel valued. Again, the manager is in the best position to grant rewards and recognition.

Certainly there are people in the workforce who go to work every day intending to put in a minimum of effort and caring very little for or about the organizations they work for. Essentially, such workers have a "what's in it for me?" attitude. Not seeing much, they don't give much, but if they saw plenty, they would give plenty. It is the responsibility of the astute manager to pave the way to employee engagement by helping to create through words and actions an environment that fosters and encourages it.

 

Making Sense of Management  

 

Learn more about a Symbiont Management Development program for your organization.  

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People often associate the topic of persuasion primarily with the concept of selling, but the importance of effective persuasion skills really pertains to every one of us regardless of our individual vocation. Every day each of us is involved to some degree in influencing the thoughts and actions of others. In fact, the path to success in life lies to a very large extent in gaining the cooperation of others. In this edition of Insights, we continue with our ongoing segment dedicated to the topic of persuasion.

 

How You Say It Is Just As Important As What You Say

 

A speaker's vocal qualities play an important role in shaping the listener's perceptions about a message. Vocal qualities include a wide array of non-verbal vocal behaviors such as voice pitch, rate, volume, inflection, and tempo as well as the pronunciation of words and our use of silence. Vocal qualities can lead listeners to form a variety of impressions about a speaker based on their interpretations of what certain vocal qualities mean.

 

Vocal quality can have an especially powerful influence on a listener's perception of a speaker's feelings, emotions or even state of mind. How often have we heard others comment to the fact that someone sounds happy, angry or confused? The sound of what a person says can even indicate the exact opposite of what his or her words are intending to convey. Bob may be saying "I'm O.K," but the tone of his voice and the hesitancy with which he expresses his words may clearly indicate that he is definitely not O.K.

 

The main reason that vocal qualities are such powerful indicators of a person's emotional state is that they are considered to be very genuine reflections of what someone is thinking or feeling. This is because their origins are usually in our subconscious minds. We each use our voice in our daily interactions to teach, manage, praise, encourage and reprimand, etc., and much of our meaning is conveyed through its use. However, we don't generally think much about how we are going to articulate a word or phrase or consciously process in our minds how we want something to sound to the person or persons we are addressing; we just let our vocal characteristics flow out of us naturally. This is just fine if the manner in which we say something is consistent with the literal meaning of the words we use, but it can be a problem when our voice and our words appear to be at odds with each other.

To be an effective persuader, our voice and our words need to be in synch. Both should convey the same or complementary messages. If they don't, our believability will be diminished or sacrificed completely.

 

Do you have a question about effective persuasion? We will be glad to offer our suggestions. Contact us.