What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
Copyright © 2005 Laurie Weiss Ph.D.
The Integrity Course
http://www.theintegritycourse.com/
Everybody has blind spots.
You have certain tendencies that you are not aware of but others
can see. These are your blind spots, and they often cause big
problems.
You may not want to accept that your life style is responsible
for your high cholesterol and that you are courting a heart
attack. You may not want to know that your defensiveness cost you
a promotion.
Over two hundred years ago, Scottish poet Robert Burns (Kinsley,
1968) wrote:
“Oh wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursel’s as others see us!”
It can be a real challenge to try to see yourself as others see
you. Sometimes you actually can do so, by watching yourself on
videotape, or listening to an audiotape. Usually, though, this
information is only available when others are willing to share it
with you.
But, you may have a blind spot about being alerted to your blind
spot!
If you do, you try to turn away any feedback that does not agree
with your own self-assessments. You may be blocking the very
information you need.
However, when you learn to accept any feedback as a gift, you can
use it to fuel your own growth and development.
Sometimes someone wants to give you information about something
you say or do that annoys others. You might even be happy to
change it if you only it existed. But you can’t know unless you
are open to their feedback.
Sometimes the information is extremely important to you, because
something you are doing (or not doing) may keep you from career
advancement or interfere with your important relationships.
Although you may not exactly welcome feedback that brings
uncomfortable information to your attention, you may desperately
need it.
When you accept new information about yourself, you can then take
action and make important changes — changes that can make a
tremendous difference to your success or even to your life.
Excerpted from lesson 11, “The Integrity Course.”
Copyright 2005 Laurie Weiss, Ph.D.
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Learn more about asking questions with grace and skill in
“The Integrity Course,” an online, multimedia course to help
you say what you think without getting fired or losing your
friends. http://www.TheIntegrityCourse.com or email:
feedback@laurieweiss.com
Laurie Weiss, Ph.D. is an internationally-known
executive coach, psychotherapist, and author.