Curious and Creative

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  • How Your Blind Spots Can Deter Your Career

    May 3, 2025

    Blind spots are personal traits or aspects we demonstrate, but are not aware of. If the traits appear as weaknesses, they can then limit the way we react, behave, or believe that could limit our effectiveness. These blind spots can negatively impact career advancement and overall professional success.

    Cynthia Orduna of Career Minds describes a professional blind spot to an area of leadership or personal behavior that an individual is unaware of, which negatively impacts their work effectiveness. She adds, these blind spots can stem from deeply ingrained habits, biases, or perspectives that can go unchallenged.

    According to leadership coach Ramonda Shaw, there are nine core blind spots:

    • avoiding conflict,
    • being a “know it all”
    • blaming others or circumstances
    • underestimating workload
    • ignoring feedback
    • not truly listening
    • being insensitive
    • conspiring against others/playing favorites
    • driven by personal agenda

    Writer Erica Lamberg points out workers are faced with career blind spots that can catch them by surprise. 

    Examples of blind spots in the workplace:

    If you avoid conflict and hesitate to address uncomfortable situations, this can lead to unresolved issues and damage work relationships. If you refuse to take responsibility for your actions or mistakes, including constructive feedback, you are risking your personal growth and development. It can hinder the progress that you could be making in your job.

    Leadership Strategist Sara Canaday states that we all have blind spots.  The only way to identify them is to ask someone has a different perspective. Select someone that will be honest enough to tell us the truth about ourselves.

    If you take on a project without understanding the full extent of its requirements and complexity, then you could miss deadlines. If you do not ask for help, this could add to the trouble that leads to miscommunication and frustration.

    It’s not just workers that show blind spots, according to Orduna.  Even seasoned leaders can have blind spots. These blind spots can cause a misalignment with their perceptions and actions with reality. It does not just affect the leader’s growth, but also impacts team dynamics and overall organizational success.

    In what ways can blind spots impact a leader?

    The leader could excel at functional tasks like technology or accounting, but falls short of building relationships. The person could have a detached personality and show little, if any, emotion. In fact, internally, the person may look down on others who show emotion in the workplace. Leaders who lack empathy and sensitivity hurt their team.

    A leader micromanages by constant supervision that could stifle creativity and demotivate their employees. The employees may feel that they are not trusted to do their jobs. Who wants a leader that is constantly looking over our shoulders?

    A leader could use direct or blunt communication that they may believe is efficient and clear. Yet, the style of communication is actually harsh and insensitive. The team could become demoralized or feel disrespected. Here, the work environment would become toxic.

    What if this same leader sees themselves as approachable, but then dismisses feedback from their team? Eventually, team members may become frustrated, then stop sharing ideas and their concerns.

    The leader that gives the top, high visibility projects to certain team members only, this can cause resentment among the rest of the team. Who wants to feel overlooked and undervalued?

    Being unaware of how you come across or are perceived could lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings. It is important to be aware of and understand various perspectives of co-workers. Being insensitive to how your behavior impacts a teammate could damage relationships and morale.

    “As in many areas of our lives,” wrote author K. Scott Griffith,  “blind spots are everywhere, often hiding in plain sight.”

    Remember, we will have blind spots. If you can become aware of them, understand them, then learn to manage them, you can grow. First, we have to look in the mirror and assess ourselves. One of the things that I learned as a leader and club officer in my Toastmasters club is to conduct a 360-degree assessment of my skill set, communication skills, and other traits. It is part of the Toastmasters International leadership development process. It allows members and fellow club officers to gain a better understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement. Take the time to create a plan to improve. Invite someone who knows you well, will be honest with you, and become your accountability partner. This will help you stay on course.  Don’t let blind spots deter your success.

    Resources:

    Image retrieved on 5/3/2025 from <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/strict-boss-concept-illustration_40467506.htm”>Image by storyset on Freepik</a>

    Canaday, Sara. “Are Your Blind Spots Killing Your Career?” 4/7/2014. Retrieved on 4/24/2025 from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140407232101-15105969-are-your-your-blind-spots-killing-your-career/

    Griffith, K. Scott. The Leader’s Guide to Managing Risk: A Proven Method to Build Resilience and Reliability. Harper Collins Leadership. ©November 2023.

    Lamberg, Erica. “These career blind spots could be holding you back at work.” Fox Business. Retrieved on 4/27/2025 from https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/career-blind-spots-could-be-holding-you-back-work-gain-control-author

    Longnecker, Clinton O. and Robert D. Yonker. “Leadership Blind Spots in Rapidly Changing Organizations.   Retrieved on 4/24/2025 from https://www.iise.org/details.aspx?id=44285

    MacGregor, Basis. “5 Top Leadership Blind Spots That Are Killing Your Performance.” 9/20/2019. Retrieved on 4/24/2025 from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-top-leadership-blind-spots-killing-your-performance/.

    Orduna, Cynthia. “Leadership Blind Spots: What They Are and How to Fix Them.” 9/19/2024. Retrieved 4/24/2025 from https://careerminds.com/blog/leadership-blind-spots#:~:text=A%20professional%20blind%20spot%20is,missed%20opportunities%20in%20the%20workplace

    Shaw, Ramona. “9 Common Blind Spots That Plague Even the Best Leaders.” Retrieved on 4/27/2025 from https://www.ramonashaw.com/9-common-blind-spots-that-plague-even-the-best-leaders/

    Toastmasters International. Club Officer 360 Degree Evaluation. Retrieved on 4/27/2025 from https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/club-officer-360-degree-evaluation

    Vozza, Stephanie. “How to Recognize Your Blind Spots Before They Derail Your Career.” 10/16/2017. Retrieved on 4/24/2025 from https://www.fastcompany.com/40477399/how-to-recognize-your-blind-spots-before-they-derail-your-career

  • Do You Stuff Emotions Deep Inside Without Realizing it?

    April 4, 2025

    Did you learn that some or all emotions were hurtful, wrong, or undesired? As humans, we can use emotional repression as a defense mechanism. People who are repressing emotions may use other techniques that do not match their feelings. They might be confused as they might feel angry, or anxious in a situation, but don’t understand why they are feeling this way.

    Repressed emotions are often connected to difficult experiences in the past, so trying to navigate it all alone can be overwhelming, wrote Andrea Darcy and Skyler King on the Harley Therapy website.

    As humans, we can repress emotions that our unconscious deems undesirable. Examples include:

    • Shame: when a person’s family, community or culture views certain emotions as shameful or unacceptable. A person may repress those emotions to avoid rejection or judgment.
    • Emotional intensity: sometimes people feel they cannot manage the painful emotions, as they are overwhelming.
    • Lack of awareness: Perhaps a person did not grow up in a home or environment that encouraged people to think about, much less express emotions as a result they did not learn how.

    Anna Freud, Sigmund’s daughter, defined repression as a defense mechanism, whose goal is to protect the ego from stress. Freud theorized that the inability to outwardly express emotion would cause it to become an inwardly harmful emotion. Over the long term, a person may display unhelpful emotions or behaviors to repress unwanted emotion.

    Prior to Anna Freud, her father, Sigmund, theorized that repressed emotions could later resurface through dreams, slips of the tongue known as the Freudian slip, or psychological distress. Since that time, repression has been a subject of debate among psychologists and researchers.

    As humans, we use both repression and suppression to try to protect ourselves. It is interesting that people can sometimes use “repressed emotions” and “suppressed emotions” interchangeably.  However, there is a key difference between repression and suppression of emotions.  According to Medical News Today, the difference lies in the process.  Repression is an unconscious, automatic blocking of thoughts and feelings, while suppression is a conscious and deliberate effort to avoid or hide emotions. When we feel grief, it might get expressed as anger. As another example, we may suppress our grief at work or among friends but feel the grief at home when we are alone.

    Psychoanalysts believe that repressed emotions can have an impact on thoughts, behavior and our health, noted Medical News Today. Though repression is a common concept in psychology and psychoanalysis, there is little scientific research on its effects.

    Repression can be a result of traumatic or distressing events. It’s a powerful defense mechanism. It acts as a psychological shield to help navigate life, without being burdened by distressing experiences, wrote Curtis.  Additionally, repression can be associated with a multitude of experiences, such as traumatic events from childhood, repressed or unfulfilled desires, phobias, irrational fears, and negative self-image.

    How can emotional repression show up in your life? It may mean you rarely open to others, which could be the real you are hidden away while you are making others laugh. You may have few close relationships, or you struggle with your fear of intimacy.

    According to Darcy, being emotionally repressed can make life difficult, and can be connected to serious psychological issues. If you are emotionally repressed, you may hate being asked how you feel about something or someone though the question, maybe innocently asked by another. You may feel speechless, powerless, or confused.

    Health writer Lindsay Curtis noted people might repress unwanted memories of past relationships, traumatic childhood experiences, taboo desires, or strong emotions that relate to negative or uncomfortable experiences.

    The impact of repression on mental health could lead to a higher risk of certain mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, and substance abuse disorders.

    Angelica Attard, Ph.D. gave her insight into repression. She concurred that repression emotions can lead to negative mental and physical health outcomes. It is crucial to acknowledge and process emotions for well-being and emotional balance. Like a physical wound that can fester, an accumulation of unaddressed emotions can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression. The increase in cortisol that comes with stress has an impact on our heart rates, motivation, and sleep.

    “As a species, we are primed to avoid pain and suffering to ensure survival,” wrote Attard.

    Varied research sources point out that those who repress emotions struggle to cope.  In the short-term, individuals may use unhealthy ways of coping, like over-eating, substance abuse, or misused prescribed medications. Furthermore, repression’s impact is not just on mental health; it affects our physical well-being. Research shows that pain levels related to chronic illnesses, such as cancer or arthritis, are higher in emotionally repressed people. We may also experience:

    • Muscle pain and tension
    • Headaches and migraines
    • Insomnia or restless sleep
    • Digestive issues like stomachaches, indigestion or nausea
    • Weakened immune system.
    • High blood pressure or other cardiovascular issues
    • Chronic Fatigue

    Attard noted, as children, we internalize the messages we hear and learn that having negative emotions and acknowledging them is not a good thing. Furthermore, not having someone model how to express and cope with emotions may lead to the development of coping strategies that focus on avoiding and inhibiting negative emotions.

    According to Curtis, seeking out a licensed mental health professional can help determine the best therapeutic approach for effectively addressing and healing from repressed emotions. Taking part in counseling with a trained counselor or psychotherapist can create a safe environment for you to access and process old emotions.

    “Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.”— Sigmund Freud.

    Resources:

    Image retrieved on 4/3/2025 from Freepik.com

    Attard, Ph.D., Angelica. “Repressed Emotions: How to Stop Suppressing Emotions.” 11/4/2020. Retrieved on 3/25/2025 from https://positivepsychology.com/repress-emotions/

    California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) “What is a blind spot in psychology?” 11/18/2024. Retrieved on 3/12/2025 from What is a blind spot in psychology? –

    Curtis, Lindsay. “Understanding Repression in Psychology.” 9/5/2023. Retrieved on 3/25/2025 from https://www.verywellhealth.com/repression-7775455

    Darcy, Andrea M. and Skyler King. “Are You Emotionally Repressed? H ow to Tell?”3/6/2023. Retrieved on 3/25/2025 from https://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/emotionally-repressed-signs.htm

    Medical News Today. “Repressed Emotions: Signs and Impact”. Retrieved on 3/301/2025 from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/repressed-emotions