Does Leadership Development Have a “Blind Spot?”

Shawn was a rising star in technology. His early adoption of all things AI several years ago gave him a leg up in the race to the C-suite. In early 2026, he became the youngest CIO in a financial services company’s history. Shawn’s almost obsessive attention to detail, rational decision-making, and laser focus on execution aided in his meteoric rise to the top of Corporate America. However, as he sat in his company’s lavish C-suites and boardrooms he noticed that almost all of the conversation focused on long-term strategy and talent development. He later confided in me that he began to miss the clarity around individual execution and the control over his own “to-do list.”

By any measure, Shawn had made it. But he was starting to realize that the strengths that got him to the senior ranks were inadequate, or even at odds, with helping him engage in these “big picture” debates and discussions.

For the last two decades, leadership development has been dominated by a strengths-based philosophy. Organizations invest millions of dollars annually helping leaders identify, leverage, and maximize their strengths. Assessments such as CliftonStrengths, DISC, MBTI, and numerous competency models have helped leaders better understand what they do well and how they can create greater impact and intrinsic satisfaction at work. And yet, something seems missing from this approach to developing talent for the realities and pressures leaders face today.

The uncomfortable truth is that most leadership failures are not caused by a lack of skill or an underdeveloped competency. Rather, they often result from overused, distorted, or misapplied strengths. As such, leadership development efforts that focus exclusively on strengths are missing one-half of the self-awareness “equation” and the opportunity for significant, sustainable development.

In other words, leadership development has a “blind spot.”

Consider a leader known for decisiveness. At their best, they are confident, courageous, and willing to make difficult decisions. Their team appreciates their clarity and willingness to act. But under pressure, that same strength can become impatient, controlling and arrogant.

Likewise, a highly supportive leader may be known for empathy, collaboration, and relationship-building. Yet when stressed, those strengths can morph into conflict avoidance, indecisiveness, or an overly-accommodating style that ultimately leads to lower performance and engagement.

Or, we can revisit Shawn’s dilemma. The detail-oriented, tactical orientation that helped propel him to the C-suite seemed ill-suited to the longer-term thinking required for strategy and talent development.

The problem is not the strength itself. The problem is that every strength carries what the famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung called a “shadow” counterpart. The Leadership Shadow is not a flaw, weakness, or defect. It is the collection of traits, fears, and tendencies we have learned to suppress, deny, or avoid because we find them undesirable or unacceptable. Ironically, the Shadow often develops alongside our greatest strengths. But over time these disowned qualities do not disappear. They simply emerge (or erupt!) in less conscious ways—particularly during periods of stress, uncertainty, change, or pressure. In my applied research I’ve identified five unique leadership styles, each with a corresponding “Leadership Shadow,” presented in the figure below.

Strengths-based development efforts very often produce results and improvement. Relationship-driven leaders become more effective communicators, but still often avoid candid feedback. Results-driven leaders improve their ability to delegate, but slip back into micromanaging when the stakes are high.

Sustained transformational growth under stress requires something more. It requires leaders to examine not only what makes them successful, but also what limits them. And this process requires the courage to explore the fears, assumptions, and patterns that sit just outside awareness.

Working with Shawn as his executive coach today, he is realizing that being an effective executive isn’t about abandoning the strengths that had made him successful. Rather, it is recognizing when they become liabilities, and having the courage to pivot to a new approach when working with others. His greatest breakthrough came not from discovering a new strength, but from becoming aware of his Leadership Shadow.

Ironically, only when we have the courage to help others explore their darkness can they discover their full spectrum of light and, in doing so, live and lead from a place of authenticity and grounded awareness. The work is not to abandon our strengths. The work is to notice when they stop serving us and start limiting the people and outcomes we care about.

A useful place to begin self-introspection is with three questions:

If you would like to learn more about your style and shadow, please visit acpfree.com. If you would like to learn more about my own personal journey toward greater awareness, including my shadow discovery process, please watch my TED Talk at The Power of Self Awareness.