What limits a manager’s growth? / by Alexander Lyadov

There are individual and universal answers to this question. The first involves an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a particular person, his or her long-term goals and time horizon.

The universal answer is useful for many businessmen in different situations: The growth of a manager is mostly limited by what he does not consider his own limitations. Figuratively speaking, the blind spot, Latin punctum caecum, is an area on the retina, which has no photoreceptors, is not sensitive to light, and therefore a person does not see anything in this area.

You can’t solve a problem that doesn’t seem to exist. One must first take the trouble to describe it, and then to take hold of it. Without a precise formulation of the problem, any, even heroic efforts to find a solution are useless.

But what is to be done? For it all sounds like a dead end. Unlike the design of the eye, the blind spot in our minds is not the design of nature. In fact, it is a learned blindness, that is, our refusal to see that which, for whatever reason, frightens us, disgusts us, or hurts us.

So there is a reliable rule of thumb — you must turn your gaze to the darkest corner of your life. A saying of the medieval alchemists stated: “In the dirt you will find everything.” What you feel is right, but what makes you uncomfortable, is the limitation you are looking for, that is, the area of personal investment for future growth.

You can also seek help from others to speed up the process. If the eye does not see itself, it will be helped by a mirror in the form of feedback from others. The only thing to remember is that the quality of the response is determined by the quality of your question. It is a special art how to get valuable feedback.

Besides, it makes no sense and is even dangerous to ask for feedback from everyone. Too few people are able to separate their attitudes toward you from their personal traumas and childhood projections.

To sum it up: if a manager wants to grow professionally, he or she should:

1) Recognize the inevitable existence of his or her blind spots;

2) Look for the “blind spots” by voluntarily facing his fears;

3) Ask for feedback about himself from mature people, whose experience, objectivity, and kind attitude the manager trusts.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander


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