Signs You’re Caught in a Strategic Leadership Blind Spot
You’re in back-to-back meetings.
You’re solving problems all day long.
You’re making rapid decisions and moving fast.
And yet it feels like you’re not making real progress.
There’s no space to think.
No time to plan.
No room to lead.
If you’re a senior leader who feels this, you’re not alone.
I work with brilliant, capable leaders who are exactly where they thought they wanted to be and still feel stuck.
They’ve built careers on resilience, drive, and results.
But beneath the surface?
- They’re exhausted
- Overloaded
- Caught in motion but not moving forward
Why High-Performing Leaders Still Feel Stuck
That’s the question I hear time and again.
“I’ve worked so hard to get here… so why do I still feel like I’m not quite getting it right?”
The issue isn’t your ability.
It’s not your work ethic.
It’s not even the external pressure.
The real problem?
It’s internal.
What Causes Leadership Blind Spots to Form
Unconscious emotional drivers.
Outdated beliefs.
Reactive habits.
These are the patterns I call The Blind Spot Trap. They keep even the most experienced leaders stuck in reactivity.
Common Emotional Drivers Behind Reactive Leadership
These internal scripts often sound like:
- “If I’m not busy, I’m not adding value.”
- “It’s quicker if I just do it myself.”
- “If I stop, it all falls apart.”
These beliefs once got you results.
But now, they’re keeping you from leading strategically.
They’re the reason you’re pushing harder instead of stepping back.
How to Spot Your Own Strategic Blind Spots
Take a step back. Ask yourself:
- Where am I reacting instead of leading?
- What am I doing out of habit, not clarity?
- What would shift if I gave myself permission to lead differently?
These aren’t small questions.
They’re the starting point for a different kind of leadership, one built on focus, intention, and impact.
Shifting From Reactive to Strategic Leadership
Here’s the truth. More effort isn’t the answer.
The shift happens when you pause long enough to ask:
“What would happen if I stopped doing this?”
If the answer is “not much,” you’ve just uncovered a blind spot.
That’s the starting point for real change.
Because being busy isn’t the same as being effective.
And leadership isn’t about doing it all.
It’s about doing what matters.
Building Strategic Leadership Skills That Last
This is the work I do inside the Strategic Leader and Emerging Leader Programmes.
Together, we look at:
- What’s really driving the overwhelm
- Where habits are rooted in pressure, not purpose
- How to create more space to think, lead, and influence
I help leaders shift from high-achieving to high-impact on their terms, without burning out.
