The Blind Spot

A blind spot is when a senior manager (though mostly used with CEO's), irrationally favors a person reporting to him that most people working for view as a problem by the rest of the management team. These people are usually very smart, but have hangups such as unconscious behaviors which make everybody hate them. The negative attitudes of the team really gets exascerbated because they can't imagine how this obvious behavior is completely transparent to the CEO (who we will assume is really smart and perceptive). How they get there is rather complex to explain, but one observation is the CEO is good at denial. Usually, the people in the blind spot are very bright, but have some glaring character flaw which is obvious to most people, but apparently not to the CEO. The problem with these people is they alienate the team. They can be disruptive and consciously or unconsciously abuse their power. Sometimes, these people have personality disorders so they are incapable of taking responsibility for their behavior. They know they are in favor with the CEO and reinforce it unconsciously. The problems these people create can be very severe. Peers will be distracted and meetings with this person are unproductive (unless the senior manager with the blind spot is there). If they do have a personality disorder, they may even try to put people in disfavor with the manager or CEO. They can do this unconsciously, meaning they will do it and not be consciously aware of their actions.

There are two reasons why the CEO behaves like they don't see what's going on. One is the CEO actually does see what is going on and believes this behavior causes healthy tension for the organization. Disruption can theoretically keep everyone on their toes. (A threat or competition to a person keeps them strong). The other is that the senior manager thinks so highly of this person he is willing to rationalize and possibly deny the behavior is actually happening. If you are in the path of one of these people, you have to make sure you adapt as much as you can. Healthy conflict and competition within a manger's team is healthy, especially with gifted people. Look at most successful rock bands. Many of them hated each other. Their manager was the glue that made the team cohesive. Without him, the band would explode. The same is true for teams of smart people in corporations. The competition will be fierce and competition is good. The manager or CEO has to keep everyone doing their job without getting off track on turf wars or other natural personality conflicts. A manager with a blind spot for someone won't be able to keep the team together and won't be able to understand why people on his or her team feel so strongly about this person. When you experience this for the first time it can be quite amazing.

Many CEOs and senior managers have blind spots. You can tell when the manager seems very fond of a someone or peer when you think they are an idiot. Now to put this in context, you could be the one with the problem and there isn't any blind spot issue. This is a reversed blind spot. You could be the one who has issues with this person. You rationalize your behavior by saying your manager must have a blind spot issue when, in fact, you are jealous of this person's authority and relationship with the CEO and are blinded yourself. (see Transference & Counter-Transference). The reversed blind spot is also common and the result of someone who is bitter and probably should be looking for a job if they feel this way.

As a salesperson, if you need to penetrate the senior management, a fast track way of getting into the account is to contact the person in the blind spot. People in the blind spot are more open to cold calls than other senior managers. So these people are easier to make appointments with than the rest of the senior managers. They know information is power and if you present your pitch right, will convince him you have something his peers don't, (key information). If you can do that you'll probably get a quick meeting. If you are cold calling senior managers and have someone call you back right away, you should be note that this person could be in a blind spot. No matter, this is a good opportunity for you to quickly get into the power base.

Summary of this Chapter:

Mangers, including the smartest one's on the planet, can have people on their team who withhold information, are manipulative, have wild, uncontrolled tempers and generally disliked by most of the other members of the team. They don't have the skills to be on a team yet there they are. Why? One of a successful managers most important assets is to be a solid team builder. Yet many powerful senior managers, including CEO's, compromise their choice on team members by rationalizing a member's weaknesses to justify their being on the team. Everybody has issues, but some more than others and these people have some issues. Eventually, you will discover these people when you call on senior managers. Either unconsciously or consciously, the manager puts this person on the team and deny the serious issues this person creates for "the good of the company". This manager has a blind spot.

One thing you already can figure out, these people are in the power base. If they work with you they will use the information you give them against the others on the team. This is a very delicate situation, but if you want to do business with this customer, you have to call on everyone, including the person in the blind spot. People on the senior team could be alienated from this person and they may look at you as a potential enemy. You have to be as neutral as you can. Many times, these people make themselves available and are easier to get a meeting with. Nothing is quicker to get in the power base than to link up with someone in the blind spot.