In leadership, the concept of “veiled” truths refers to the often, unseen aspects of a leader’s behaviour and mindset that can significantly impact their effectiveness. Despite their best intentions, leaders may have blind spots that hinder team performance and organisational success. This article delves into the importance of self-awareness in leadership and outlines an evidenced-based method to uncover these hidden truths.
In my recent book The Happy Healthy Leader – how to achieve your potential even during a crisis I explain the importance of the 4Ps, a process designed to uncover blind spots, that may be blocking your path to becoming a happier and healthier leader.
A method to uncover hidden truths: the blind spots of Leadership
The 4Ps is an evidence-based process that helps uncover hidden factors contributing to an unhappy or unhealthy leadership experience. My experience with leaders has shown that those struggling with these hidden issues often face significant challenges in performing well. However, if these issues are hidden, it’s very difficult to identify and uncover these issues, and therefore almost impossible to resolve. While some of these issues have been hidden on purpose.
Often, we bury past experiences as a coping strategy, but their effects linger. Guilt, for instance, is a common emotion we suppress, often by justifying our behaviour or pretending events never happened. This is similar to trying to keep an inflatable ball submerged in a swimming pool. The effort to keep it below the surface is immense, and eventually, it will pop back up.
The problem with this approach is that even the smallest trigger—a spilled coffee, someone cutting you off in traffic, or a loved one forgetting something important—can be the ‘last straw’ that makes you lose control. Suddenly, the suppressed feelings or experiences surface, overwhelming you.
As a leader, this can be problematic for several reasons:
- Irrational Reactions: You might say something irrational in a meeting.
- Rash Decisions: You could make a hasty decision out of irritation.
- Neglecting Information: Important information might be ignored because your energy is drained by trying to suppress these feelings.
These reactions can create problems for your team and affect your performance. Understanding and addressing the 4Ps can help you manage these hidden factors, leading to better leadership and well-being.
The 4Ps: an evidenced-based process in Leadership
The 4Ps in psychology stand for Predisposing, Precipitating, Perpetuating, and Protective factors. These factors can help a leader self-diagnose issues impacting their leadership capability by providing a structured way to understand and address various influences on their behaviour and well-being.
- Predisposing Factors:
- Definition: Long-term factors that make an individual more susceptible to issues.
- Examples: Genetics, upbringing, personality traits, past experiences.
- How It Helps: Recognize underlying vulnerabilities that might influence leadership challenges.
- Precipitating Factors
- Definition: Immediate triggers or events that lead to the onset of issues.
- Examples: Recent stress, workload increase, conflicts, significant life changes.
- How It Helps: Identify current events or stressors that may have triggered leadership difficulties.
- Perpetuating Factors
- Definition: Ongoing factors that maintain or worsen the issues.
- Examples: Unhealthy work habits, negative thinking patterns, lack of support.
- How It Helps: Understand what is keeping the issues from resolving and develop strategies to address these ongoing influences.
- Protective Factors
- Definition: Positive factors that help reduce or manage issues.
- Examples: Strong support network, healthy coping mechanisms, positive mindset.
- How It Helps: Leverage existing strengths and resources to improve leadership capabilities and overall well-being.
By examining these 4Ps, leaders can gain a comprehensive understanding of the various factors affecting their leadership, allowing them to take targeted actions to improve their effectiveness and well-being. Working with a qualified professional is the safest and most effective way to examine the 4Ps.
How you can self-assess the 4Ps.
Here is a link where you can download pages 28-31, from my above-mentioned book, that takes you through the 4Ps process. If you wish to purchase my book, you can do that at Amazon or on my website (will sign the book for you).
Final thoughts & a personal reflection
If you are in a leadership role, and know you are unhappy or unhealthy but don’t know why or how to change your current experience, then perhaps you need to make some time to do a deeper dive into why. The alternative is you continue to put all your energy into keeping that ball hidden from view, hoping it doesn’t rise to the surface. There is no failure in recognising you are not perfect, nor asking for help. In fact it’s quite the opposite. It takes courage to recognise you are not happy, and do the work to change your leadership experience and journey. If you wish to engage with a qualified professional, please feel free to reach out to me HERE for a confidential chat.
Fourteen years ago, I was an unhappy and unhealthy leader, struggling for several years. For about two of those years, I pretended to myself and others that I loved my work. Eventually, my facade crumbled, and I felt lost, stuck, and alone, terrified that if I didn’t change my mindset and start enjoying my work, I would lose everything. While my experience wasn’t always positive, I was surprised by the energy and enthusiasm I had for a fresh start. It was much easier than suppressing everything. I found my passion and have since been helping other leaders do the same. Here is my short story and one of my clients’.
Margie Ireland is one of the few Leadership Coaches who is also a registered Psychologist, who has proven to help CEOs, MDs, and HR Executives uncover and identify hidden weaknesses, and the necessary changes and their implementation to steer clear of potential risks and achieve better results. Margie is works with medium-sized organisations and large corporates across diverse industries. For more information go to www.margieireland.com
