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The Leadership Blind Spot That Can Quietly Undermine Your Influence

  • krismudd
  • Aug 21
  • 2 min read
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Great leaders work hard to inspire, guide, and empower their teams. But even the most well-meaning leaders can fall victim to a blind spot that quietly erodes trust, engagement, and performance:

The gap between what you intend and how your actions are experienced.

Why This Blind Spot Exists

Leaders often evaluate themselves based on intentions—what they meant to communicate, the reasons behind a decision, or the belief that they’re being fair and transparent.

But employees don’t experience intentions. They experience impact:

  • The tone of your email

  • The timing of your feedback

  • The clarity of your expectations

  • The consistency between your words and actions

When intent and impact don’t align, the result can be confusion, frustration, or even resentment—often without the leader realizing it.

How the Gap Shows Up in Day-to-Day Leadership

  1. Feedback That Feels Personal

    • Intent: Help someone grow.

    • Impact: They feel criticized or undervalued because the timing or delivery missed the mark.

  2. Decisions Made Without Context

    • Intent: Move quickly to protect the business.

    • Impact: Team feels blindsided and excluded from the process.

  3. "Open Door" Policies That Aren’t Really Open

    • Intent: Appear approachable.

    • Impact: Body language, busyness, or curt replies make people hesitant to speak up.

Bridging the Intent-Impact Gap

  1. Seek Real FeedbackDon’t just ask “How am I doing?”—ask “How did that decision/meeting/message land for you?”

  2. Check AssumptionsJust because you feel clear, doesn’t mean your message was received the way you hoped.

  3. Acknowledge Gaps When They HappenIf you learn that your impact didn’t match your intent, own it quickly:“I see how that could have come across differently than I intended—let me clarify.”

  4. Model Self-AwarenessTeams mirror leadership behavior. When you show that you care about alignment, your team will follow suit.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

In today’s hybrid and high-change workplaces, misunderstandings multiply without face-to-face cues. Leaders who actively close the intent-impact gap build stronger trust, reduce unnecessary stress, and improve retention.

The bottom line:Your intentions matter—but in leadership, your impact is what people remember. Make sure the two align.

 
 
 

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