Blind Spots: Learning to be Self-Aware
Blind Spots: Learning to be Self-Aware
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Cornell left work early today, which was unusual for him. He was frustrated.
Before and during the pandemic, whether working from the office or home, he was used to putting in long hours. His company’s business was growing, and he was in the thick of their new product development and launch. He made regular presentations to the executive committee, spoke frequently with Rosemary his VP as they were working through thorny issues, and knew the technical details inside and out. (more…)
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The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about a young man named Liam McCoy.1 Liam was born with albinism, a diagnosis characterized by lack of the pigment melanin in his hair, eyes, and skin. His eyes were overly sensitive to bright light, they moved involuntarily to the point that he was unable to make them look at any specific object, and he was extremely nearsighted. He could only see something in a field three inches from his nose and had a visual acuity of 20/2000. Though he had sight, his visual perception was extremely poor, and he learned to experience and understand his environment using cues that were different from those born with normal vision. 
“Belief in what someone can do is more powerful than knowledge of what they can do.”
Imagine that you’ve just been promoted to lead your first team. Some of you will have to reach back in your memory bank to think about this. Others are looking forward to that moment, with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. Because until you sit in that chair, you don’t quite know what it’s going to be like.
Think back a few years to when you were in elementary, middle, or high school. The dynamics of navigating the playground and hanging out around school was often just as much of a challenge as mastering your classes. Sure, for some it seemed easy, but for others it was fraught with social stress of making friends, keeping friends, avoiding bullies, trying to be the bully, finding acceptance, and developing trusting relationships.
Imagine you’re walking along the beach. In the distance you see storm clouds gathering, the sky darkening. The sun slowly becomes unrecognizable behind the thick cover overhead. The waves rushing onto shore become increasingly more powerful, as they push further into the sand, washing away the designs and formations made by beachgoers earlier in the day. The lifeguards beckon swimmers out of the water because they know the undercurrent is stronger and the sea is dangerous. Umbrellas and beach chairs are stacked up and tied down. Meanwhile the sand is pushed in and out by the waves, back and forth in unpredictable patterns.
The sound of her watch alarm abruptly awakened Carol from a deep sleep. It was January 2nd and she was already focused on how she would address her leadership team when they returned to work in a few days. Thoughts had been swirling in her mind over the two-week holiday break. 
Even though most of us haven’t been flying much in the past eight months, we’re all familiar with the safety guidelines shared by flight attendants before an airplane takes off. In the event of an emergency where supplemental oxygen is needed, a mask will drop from the overhead cabin. You should put on your own mask before helping children, the disabled, or anyone needing assistance. And know that the oxygen is flowing, even if the plastic bag doesn’t inflate.
Amsterdam is crumbling. The capital city of the Netherlands known for its winding canals, historic buildings and beautiful museums is suffering from cracks and sinkholes along its waterways. It was built between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries on a marshland by driving wooden stakes deep into the ground to provide a steady foundation upon which to construct the buildings. While newer buildings were set on concrete foundations, a significant portion of the city remains atop the historic stakes, whose age and quality have caused multistory houses to lean. 
Imagine walking through an unfamiliar forest…in the dark. The sounds of night creatures; uneven terrain under your feet; tree branches suddenly brushing your head and arms; searching for a path, any trail; trying to see fallen logs before you trip over them; peering at the quarter moon in the sky and wishing for more light. You are trying to remember your wilderness survival training from childhood, but it’s a distant memory. It is a long night; you are exhausted from working all day. You know that dawn is coming, you’ve just lost track of when, and you don’t know how deep into the forest you’ll be when the sun rises.