I’m often asked, in both personal and professional contexts, if I ever miss anything when it comes to human behaviour… The answer, you may or may not be surprised to hear, is “Of course I do!”.
Just because I love, live, breathe, teach, AND practice emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and behaviour analysis, that by no means makes me infallible. There is always the very real chance of errors of misjudgment, lack of focus, misunderstandings, inattention, and more.
That’s the nature of being a human in a world full of other humans.
However, I am lucky enough to have the knowledge, along with a set of tools, strategies, and techniques (and BRUTALLY honest friends and colleagues 😂) to enable me to mitigate many of the issues of communication in day-to-day life. And for that… I am grateful.
What Are Blindspots?
Many of you will be familiar with the popular model known as Johari Window, as even a cursory venture into teamwork, business, management, communication, and more, will feature this model. But, for those of you not familiar you can see it represented below.
Along the horizontal axis is what is known to us as individuals, and the vertical axis is what is known by others. In the top left pane we have those things known to all and therefore OPEN. In the bottom left corner there are things known to us, but not known to others and therefore HIDDEN from them. In the bottom right corner, there are things we don’t know AND are not known by others either, so these are UNKNOWN. But, the focus of this article is the top right area… That is, those things known by others but that you do not yet know… Your BLINDSPOT.
Types of Blindspots
Now, many things can fall into this area but, when it comes to emotional intelligence and human behaviour, this is an area we really need to be aware of. Here are a few examples:
- Your own behaviour is causing a member of staff to feel stressed and lacking in self-esteem… But are you aware of these? (Self Blindspot)
- Your partner is having a tough time and barely holding things together, whilst putting on a brave face, to colleagues, friends, and family… But, are you aware of these? (Relational Blindspot)
- While networking at a large business conference, a person is standing on their own on the far side corner of the hall, wearing a backpack, dressed inappropriately, and watching the crowd… But are you aware of these? (External/Situational Blindspot)
- A member of staff is desperate to talk to someone about the working conditions in the office but doesn’t feel able to do so… But, are you aware of these? (Cultural Blindspot)
- Strange financial anomalies have occurred and a business partner’s language and behaviour has changed, others have concerns that they may be involved… But, are you aware of these? (Trust Blindspot)
But, we CAN work on some areas of our perception to ensure that, when it matters, those ‘blindspots’ are highlighted. There are literally hundreds of opportunities each day to be present and focus on what’s really going on around us.
Though, too often, we are caught up in the day-to-day grind, considering the next meeting, next deadline, looming bill, or project milestone, that we don’t stop to notice the NOW. And if we do… We don’t know HOW.
Taking Action
In some cases we may need an external source, such as a friend or colleague to be honest and open with us to highlight those blindspots. But, in many cases, we can take responsibility for our awareness, our attention and our behaviours to ensure that we are being as effective as we can in our interactions and relationships. Learn more, develop and sharpen our skills so that we can apply them to our perceptions each and every day.
There are of course some UNKNOWNS that, through the process of exploring blindspots, can be exposed too. These are often discovered through reflection once we are aware of those things that have been blindspots.
Why was I blind to these things?
What function did this serve?
What was I avoiding and why? And so on…
So why does it matter to us, and why should it matter to you?
For leaders: Understand how your presence, tone, and decisions impact others in ways you don’t see.
For teams: Reveal hidden dynamics undermining collaboration, safety, and trust.
For organisations: Create a culture where unseen risks and opportunities are surfaced before they cost reputation, money, or talent.And, for individuals, we can develop far more insightful relationships that allow us to genuinely engage and respond effectively with those we know and love.
Making the Hidden Visible
The Blindspot Audit® is the process of Assessment, Feedback and Development using a variety of tools and strategies that we use at EmotionIntell, that allows us to understand:
- El Gaps – effectiveness, impact and intent
- Relational and Situational Awareness – missed cues
- Deception Detection – misplaced trust
- Psychological Safety – open, honest, authentic communications
- Personal & Communication Style – how we come across to others
- Nuanced Language – shifts in linguistic signals
The Blindspot Audit® helps individuals and organisations see what they cannot see themselves, making the hidden visible, and turning blindspots into strengths.
So, am I perfect? Absolutely not, and none of us are.
But, with curiosity, an openness to feedback, self-development, application of EI, Mindfulness, Attention, Communication skills, and Behaviour Analysis we can all improve each and every day.
When was the last time you realised you’d missed something important?How will you identify YOUR blindspots?
