Get Quartz in your inbox

Free daily briefing on global business news.

Most senior leaders assume they're self-aware. Research shows they aren't

Most senior leaders seldom question their own assumptions. Executives' blind spots cost teams clear judgment when it matters most

Willie B. Thomas / Getty Images

Most senior leaders spend their days deciding, directing, and responding. Very few spend meaningful time examining whether their own assumptions are still right. The ones who do are nearly twice as confident their organizations can adapt to change, according to a McKinsey survey of more than 10,000 executives.

That confidence extends beyond a general feeling. Reflective leaders in the survey were also more than twice as likely to have clear visibility on their organization's must-win battles and more attuned to external threats like geopolitical shifts. They didn't spend more time reading reports. They had developed a sharper sense for what mattered because they'd been honest with themselves about what they had gotten wrong.

Most managers globally are going through the motions. Gallup estimates that only about one in five are genuinely invested in their teams and their work. At the organizations Gallup ranks highest for workplace culture, four out of five actually are. The leaders in those organizations are far more likely to regularly examine their own........

© Quartz