The Leadership Blind Spot : Why Smart Leaders Fail to Build Smarter Teams

I've worked under countless foremen, supervisors, and project managers throughout my construction career.

The vast majority were technically competent—they knew their trade inside and out, could solve complex problems under pressure, and delivered quality results consistently.

Yet most of them shared a critical blind spot that limited their effectiveness as leaders:

They were terrible at transferring what they knew to others.

This isn't just a construction industry problem—it's the biggest leadership failure across every field, and it's killing team performance everywhere.

The Teacher's Dilemma : Knowing vs. Teaching

Most of my "teachers" weren't good at explaining why and just focused on the what with a small sprinkling of the how, often with a "just do what I do" response to my endless questions.

This pattern repeated itself across both construction sites and martial arts dojos.

The people in leadership positions had undeniable expertise—they could execute flawlessly, troubleshoot effectively, and achieve consistent results.

But when it came to explaining their process or teaching others, they defaulted to demonstration without explanation.

And the worst part, it was often those that were the most skilled at doing a task that were the ones who were the worst at explaining what they could do.

A classic example of being gifted and capable so not knowing what it actually takes to learn the skill

The Three Levels of Understanding

Most leaders operate at the first level of understanding when teaching others:

Level 1: WHAT (Surface Knowledge)

• The specific steps to follow
• The immediate actions to take
• The visible behaviors to replicate

Level 2: HOW (Procedural Knowledge)

• The sequence and timing of actions
• The techniques and methods involved
• The skills and coordination required

Level 3: WHY (Principled Understanding)

• The underlying principles that guide decisions
• The reasoning behind specific approaches
• The adaptable frameworks that work across situations

Most leaders get stuck teaching Level 1 and 2 because that's where their conscious competence operates.

They've internalized the WHY so completely that it's become unconscious, making it nearly impossible to articulate to others.

The Competence Curse : When Mastery Becomes a Teaching Obstacle

Here's what I discovered:

Most leaders weren't held back because they didn't know their shit—it was because they had difficulty transferring what they know to others.

This phenomenon has a name in psychology: the "curse of knowledge."​

When you know something well, it becomes increasingly difficult to remember what it was like not to know it.

Your expertise creates blind spots about the learning process itself.

The Unconscious Competence Trap

Highly skilled leaders often operate from unconscious competence—they perform complex tasks automatically, without conscious thought about each component.

When asked to teach these skills, they face several challenges:

• Automaticity Amnesia: They can't remember the struggle of learning because the skill feels natural now
• Intuitive Blind Spots: Much of their decision-making happens below conscious awareness
• Pattern Recognition Gaps: They see solutions immediately but can't explain the pattern recognition process
• Context Collapse: They apply complex contextual knowledge automatically without realizing it

The One-Size-Fits-All Fallacy

To make matters worse, they taught what they knew, not the principles of why they did what they do.

Because there is no one-size-fits-all, and what worked in the past is no guarantee it would work again in the future or for different people.

This insight reveals the fundamental flaw in most leadership development:

Bad leaders try to create carbon copies of themselves rather than helping team members develop their own optimal approaches.

The Replication Trap

When leaders focus on replicating their specific methods rather than teaching underlying principles, several problems emerge:

• Individual Differences Ignored: People have different learning styles, physical capabilities, and cognitive strengths
• Situational Variations Unaddressed: Future scenarios will require adaptations that rigid replication can't handle
• Innovation Stifled: Team members don't develop the understanding needed to improve upon existing methods
• Dependency Created: The team becomes reliant on the leader's presence and specific guidance
• Capability Ceiling Imposed: Team members can't exceed the leader's performance because they don't understand the principles well enough to innovate

The Commander's Intent Revolution

There's a concept that I learned mid-way through my foreman journey, and I wished I had learned it years earlier because it would've saved so much headache, wasted effort, time and money—it's Commander's Intent.

This military-derived concept, which I encountered in Josh Kaufman's "The Personal MBA" while helping my wife scale her somatic therapy practice, revolutionized my understanding of effective leadership and teaching.

Defining Commander's Intent

This approach consists of four essential elements:

1. Clear Objective: What specific outcome needs to be achieved?

2. Key Constraints: What limitations or boundaries must be respected?

3. Success Metrics: How will we know if we've achieved the objective?

4. Decision-Making Authority: What level of autonomy does the team have in choosing methods?

Construction Site Application

Instead of saying: "Install these conduits exactly like I showed you," a Commander's Intent approach would be:

• Objective: "We need all electrical conduits installed to provide power to the new equipment room"
• Constraints: "Must meet NEC code requirements, stay within the $2,000 material budget, and complete by Friday to avoid delaying the concrete pour"
• Success Metrics: "Proper continuity testing, inspector approval, and ready for wire pulling"
• Authority: "You choose the routing path and installation method that works best given the site conditions"

This approach develops thinking electricians rather than robotic followers.

The Individual Development Principle

The key to this is tapping into your team as capable people and even though you are the "leader," you don't know everything, and you help your team to be better at being themselves and not just carbon copies of you.

This represents a fundamental shift from authoritarian to developmental leadership.

Instead of imposing your methods, you're helping each person discover their optimal approach within proven principles.

The Capacity Recognition Paradigm

Effective leaders recognize that every team member brings unique capabilities that, when properly developed, can exceed the leader's own performance in specific areas. This requires:

• Ego Management: Being comfortable with team members who might become better than you in certain aspects
• Individual Assessment: Understanding each person's learning style, strengths, and development needs
• Adaptive Teaching: Adjusting your approach based on what works best for each individual
• Growth Mindset: Believing that capabilities can be developed rather than being fixed
• Systems Thinking: Recognizing that team performance exceeds individual performance when properly orchestrated

Teaching as Customized Problem-Solving

Learning how to teach is about seeing multiple ways of achieving a result and matching the best option for each person as a stepping stone to help them find an even better way that resonates with each individual.

This insight transforms teaching from information delivery to individualized development facilitation. Great teachers don't just know one way to achieve results—they understand multiple pathways and can match the right approach to the right person at the right time.

The Multiple Pathways Approach

• For Visual Learners: Diagrams, demonstrations, and step-by-step visual guides
• For Auditory Learners: Detailed explanations, discussions, and verbal reasoning
• For Kinesthetic Learners: Hands-on practice, physical manipulation, and trial-and-error exploration
• For Analytical Learners: Logical frameworks, cause-and-effect relationships, and systematic approaches
• For Intuitive Learners: Pattern recognition, big-picture context, and principle-based understanding

The Progressive Development Model

Rather than expecting immediate mastery, effective teachers design learning progressions:

• Foundation Building: Establishing basic competencies and confidence
• Skill Integration: Combining individual skills into coherent capabilities
• Adaptive Application: Using skills in varied contexts and conditions
• Innovation Development: Creating new approaches based on solid principles
• Teaching Others: The ultimate test of mastery—being able to explain and develop others

The Cookie-Cutter Efficiency Myth

As a leader, a teacher, someone that others want to follow and learn from, you need to be able to tap into each individual person and not use a cookie-cutter process which may seem more efficient but is actually the opposite.

This reveals one of the most dangerous misconceptions in leadership: that standardization equals efficiency. While standardized processes work well for simple, repetitive tasks, they become counterproductive when developing human capabilities.

Why Cookie-Cutter Approaches Fail

• Wasted Effort: People struggle with approaches that don't match their learning style
• Incomplete Development: Some team members never reach their potential because the teaching method doesn't connect \
• Higher Turnover: Capable people leave when they don't feel developed or understood
• Innovation Deficit: Teams trained identically produce identical (and limited) results
• Crisis Vulnerability: When conditions change, cookie-cutter trained teams can't adapt

The True Efficiency of Individualization

While individualized development requires more upfront investment, it creates exponential returns:

• Accelerated Learning: People learn faster when teaching matches their optimal style
• Higher Engagement: Individuals feel valued and understood, increasing motivation
• Greater Innovation: Different approaches lead to creative solutions and improvements
• Improved Retention: People stay where they feel developed and appreciated
• Enhanced Adaptability: Principle-based learning enables flexibility in changing conditions

The Learning Leader Hierarchy

So if you want to lead, you first need to be a teacher, and to be a good teacher, you need to be a great student who never stops learning, growing, and adapting.

This creates a hierarchy of development that builds from the foundation up:

Level 1: Great Student

• Constantly seeking new knowledge and perspectives
• Learning from mistakes and failures
• Remaining curious and open to different approaches
• Understanding how you learn best
• Developing pattern recognition across multiple domains

Level 2: Effective Teacher

• Translating complex knowledge into understandable components
• Adapting teaching style to individual learning needs
• Creating safe environments for experimentation and failure
• Providing constructive feedback that promotes growth
• Developing others' capabilities beyond your own limitations

Level 3: Developmental Leader

• Creating systems that develop teaching capability throughout the organization
• Building cultures where learning and growth are prioritized
• Aligning individual development with organizational objectives
• Fostering innovation through diverse approaches and perspectives
• Preparing others to exceed your own capabilities and eventually replace you

Practical Implementation : From Theory to Practice

Understanding these principles is only valuable if you can implement them effectively. Here's a practical framework for developing your teaching and leadership capabilities:

The LEARN Framework

L - Listen First Before teaching anything, understand the individual's current knowledge, learning style, and specific challenges. Ask questions and listen carefully to responses.

E - Explain the Why Always start with the underlying principles and reasoning before diving into specific techniques or procedures.

A - Adapt Your Approach Modify your teaching method based on how the individual learns best. Be prepared to try multiple approaches if the first doesn't connect.

R - Reflect and Refine Continuously assess whether your teaching is effective. Adjust based on feedback and results.

N - Nurture Independence The goal is to develop independent thinkers, not dependent followers. Gradually increase autonomy while providing support.

The Commander's Intent Template

For any assignment or project, structure your communication this way:

1. Objective: "Here's what we need to achieve..."
2. Why It Matters: "This is important because..."
3. Constraints: "You need to stay within these boundaries..."
4. Success Metrics: "We'll know we've succeeded when..."
5. Your Authority: "You have the freedom to..."
6. Available Resources: "Here's what you can use..."
7. Check-in Schedule: "Let's review progress on..."

The Multiplication Effect : Leaders Creating Leaders

When you shift from creating followers to developing leaders, your impact multiplies exponentially.

Instead of being limited by your own capacity, you create capability throughout your organization.

The Teaching Cascade

Great leaders create a cascade effect where:

• They develop direct reports who become effective teachers
• Those direct reports develop their teams using the same principles
• Teaching capability spreads throughout the organization
• Continuous learning and improvement become cultural norms
• Innovation and adaptation happen at every level

The Legacy Question

Ask yourself: "What happens to my team's performance when I'm not here?"

If the answer is "Performance drops significantly," you're creating dependence, not capability.

If the answer is "They continue to perform well and even improve," you're building sustainable leadership.

The Leadership Transformation

The biggest blind spot in leadership isn't technical incompetence—it's the inability to transfer competence to others effectively.

Leaders who master this skill create teams that exceed their own individual capabilities.

They build organizations that continue to grow and adapt even in their absence.

The transformation from expert to teacher to leader requires humility, patience, and a fundamental shift in how you measure success.

Instead of being the person who knows the most or performs the best, you become the person who develops others to know more and perform better than you ever could alone.

This isn't just about being a better leader—it's about creating a legacy of capability that extends far beyond your direct influence.

When you teach people not just what to do but how to think, learn, and adapt, you're not just improving current performance—you're building the foundation for continuous improvement that will benefit organizations and individuals long after you're gone.

The question isn't whether you know your stuff—it's whether you can help others know theirs even better than you know yours.

That's the difference between being an expert and being a leader. That's the difference between individual success and organizational transformation.

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