A few years ago, I facilitated several conversations with senior leaders who were being considered for prominent opportunities. Each leader had the potential to be promoted to a role with great visibility and impact to the organization.  One individual was outgoing, charismatic and highly self-reliant, yet it was apparent to me that he struggled with interpersonal relationships. He was ignorant of this downfall, and I watched as no one mentioned it to him.  It occurred to me that his close-knit, trusted circle of colleagues were being nice, rather than honest when it came to his interpersonal relationship skills. Both he and the organization were suffering because of their lack of honesty. He would have benefited from an honest outsider’s perspective.

Maybe you know this person, or this may even sound like yourself. If so, consider advice from an Objective Outsider.  An Objective Outsider is someone you can go to with hair-brained ideas and receive honest feedback.  It is someone who exposes your “blind self” to you. By revealing these blind spots, they can guide and champion you, your cause and your career.

I recently commented on a quote by Ray Dalio:

“Find the most believable people who disagree with you and try to understand their reasoning.” 

Understanding other’s perceptions of you can help connect the dots and refine the decision-making process.  The value of an Objective Outsider goes beyond personal feedback.  An Objective Outsider is a trusted advisor for both personal and professional effectiveness and the betterment of the organization.

To learn more, check out this featured article on Disagreement can Help Connect the Dots for Better Decisions or the entire series Worthwhile Disagreement, Emotional Reasoning as Fact, Hiding in Crisis and the Trap of Bitterness on medium.com.