In the high-stakes world of executive decision-making, what we don’t see often matters more than what we do.
Dr. Martin Dubin, clinical psychologist turned executive coach and author of Blindspotting, argues that leadership blind spots aren’t just occasional lapses—they’re patterned behaviors, deeply embedded in identity, emotion, and motive. His provocative framework challenges leaders to confront the hidden forces that shape their impact, often without their awareness.
Dubin’s work is a fusion of clinical insight and boardroom pragmatism. Drawing from decades of experience with CEOs, founders, and high-performing teams, he maps out six concentric zones of blind spots—from observable behaviors to buried motives—and offers a blueprint for self-awareness that’s both strategic and deeply human.
In our recent conversation, Dubin reveals how strengths can become liabilities, why feedback is often misheard, and how vulnerability at the top can transform organizational culture.
When Dubin introduces himself to clients, he doesn’t lead with credentials. He simply says, “I help leaders become more self-aware.” That deceptively simple statement anchors his philosophy: blind spots aren’t just mistakes—they’re recurring patterns that leaders fail to recognize, even as others feel their impact.
“They’re the flip side of self-awareness,” Dubin explains. “Default responses that usually work—until they don’t.”
Blind spots, he says, exist across six domains: identity, behavior, emotion, intellect, traits, and motives. Picture concentric circles, with behavior and identity on the outer ring—most visible and easiest to adjust—and motives at the bullseye, often invisible even to leaders themselves.
One of Dubin’s most striking insights is that blind spots often masquerade as strengths. A decisive leader may be perceived as arrogant. A detail-oriented manager may become a micromanager. “Just add the word ‘too’ in front of your strengths,” Dubin advises. “Too confident, too organized, too creative—those are the tipping points.”
His clinical background informs a diagnostic approach to coaching. Unlike therapy, where caution and hierarchy prevail, Dubin finds coaching to be a more egalitarian space. “Leaders want help fast. They’re well put together. It’s a more equal relationship.”
But equality doesn’t mean ease. Feedback, Dubin says, is the most effective tool for uncovering blind spots—but it’s also the most fraught. “Leaders hear, ‘That’s not what I meant,’ but it’s how it came across. Impact differs from intention.”
Dubin’s coaching isn’t about transformation in the grand sense—it’s about micro-adjustments with macro impact. “Like a golf coach tweaking your grip by a quarter inch,” he says. “Small changes, huge results.”
His emotional intelligence framework includes five levels: self-awareness, general awareness, awareness of others, emotional management, and strategic use of emotion. These filters help leaders navigate their own blind spots and those of their teams.
And teams, Dubin notes, are the next frontier. “Blind spots in groups lead to groupthink. Apollo 13 is a classic example—everyone locked into one mindset. Disclosure breeds disclosure. It starts with the leader.”
For leaders under pressure, Dubin offers grounding advice: “You’re the same person you were before the promotion. Don’t let the pressure distort your identity.”
Dr. Dubin’s work reminds us that leadership isn’t just about vision—it’s about introspection. The most dangerous blind spots aren’t the ones we deny, but the ones we’ve been rewarded for. In a culture that prizes decisiveness, confidence, and control, Blindspotting invites leaders to ask: When do my strengths become liabilities? What patterns am I repeating without reflection?
The journey toward self-awareness isn’t linear, and it isn’t solitary. It begins with curiosity, deepens through feedback, and flourishes in environments where vulnerability is modeled—not avoided. As Dubin puts it, “Disclosure breeds disclosure.” And in that space, real leadership begins.