The Blind Side

In 2009 there was a movie called The Blind Side staring Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron and Tim McGraw. Quinton portrayed the real life Michael Oher who faced many challenges and was eventually adopted by Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her husband Shawn (Tim McGraw). Michael learned to play football for the first time and was taught the position of left tackle. Left tackles are important because they help protect quarterbacks from defenders coming from the left or blind side-while they are looking the other direction. My question for you today is, “Who is protecting your blind side?”

If we want to be great, we need left tackles in our lives; people who can see our areas of weakness and alert us. Unfortunately, the higher you climb up the ladder or progress in life, there are fewer people willing to tell you the truth. It is this lack of truth or sobering perspective that will not only harm us but also those around us.

I’ve seen people who are in leadership and rank in file positions who are hurting their organizations by their behavior and decisions, and no one has the courage to tell them that they need to make some adjustments. I’ve also seen this outside the work environment. Oftentimes people don’t address other’s blind spots, because they are afraid of retaliation or hurting their feelings. The sad thing is that in the end people, organizations and relationships are destroyed because blind spots aren’t addressed. Some things are so obvious to others, but our egos, denial and lack of objectivity prevent us from seeing our blind spots.

Some people have 20/20 vision, and still can’t see! That is why it is critical that we have people in our lives who will keep it real with us, but for that to happen, we cannot surround ourselves with yes-men or women. We must give people the space and permission to give us honest feedback even if we don’t like what they have to say!

Can your employees, coworkers, friends, family or associates tell you the truth without retaliation? That is a question that only you or they can answer.

If you want to be great you need people who will protect your blind side. What can you do to protect your blind side? Here are some suggestions:

5 Ways to Protect Your Blind Side:

1. Ego Check-The first step to protecting your blind side is to check your ego. Anyone can fall into the trap of thinking too highly of themselves. However, a dose of humility can open you to the possibility of areas for improvement. If you believe you are ego-free, that is a sign that you have one!
2. 360 Feedback-Be open to doing a 360. A 360 is a survey where you receive anonymous feedback from your team. They are asked a battery of questions about your leadership or how they experience you. You will answer the same questions as well. If there are consistent gaps between what you say about yourself and how others perceive you, that is a sign that you have some work to do.
3. Growth Mindset-Realize that you are not perfect and solicit honest feedback from others. But there is one caveat…you must be quiet and listen to their feedback without rebuttal or retaliation. This exercise may be uncomfortable at first, but in order to grow you must learn to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
4. Observe-Always be observant, make sure that you perceive peoples body language and various reactions to the things you say and do. Don’t just go by their words. If you see that your behavior is triggering for others, that is an indication that you may have some blind spots that need addressed ASAP!
5. Accountability Partner/Coach-As you identify areas for growth, make sure that you establish relationships and friendship where you can get coaching and are held accountable for addressing your growth areas. I have personally found this very helpful. It makes you more conscientious of needing to address your weaknesses/blind spots as you know that your coach or accountability partner will be checking in on your progress from time to time.

These 5 suggestions are not always easy to digest or put into practice. However, if you do what is easy, life will be hard. And if you do what is hard, life will be much easier. Having the courage to address your weaknesses and blind spots will position you to become the best version of yourself!

For more inspiration, see book link:

Get a copy of my new book Greatness Awaits You! on Amazon today!
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Remember Greatness Awaits You!

Carlos T. Carter
Founder & Chief Motivator
www.seeds2fruitmotivation.com

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