How well do you really know yourself as a CEO? Blind spots, ego and pitfalls
- Hans Smellinckx
- Dec 9
- 5 min read
Intro
Every CEO likes to believe they “know themselves”.You don’t get to lead a company in Belgium, the Netherlands or anywhere in Europe without at least some level of self-awareness.
But there is a big difference between knowing your CV and knowing your patterns.
In my work as a strategic sparring partner for CEOs of SMEs and scale-ups and in my book “100 Days to Make Your Mark as a CEO”, I see it again and again:strategy slides are sharp, the financial model makes sense… and still, the company gets stuck.
The bottleneck is often not the strategy, but the blind spots, ego and reflexes of the CEO.
Why this is a strategic topic, not a soft one
On paper this sounds like “personal development”.In reality, it is pure hard business.
Your blind spots as CEO directly influence:
which problems you see and which you ignore
who you promote and who you lose
which risks you dare to take
how honest your team dares to be with you
how fast decisions get made and implemented
If you run a family-owned SME, a fast-growing scale-up or a regional player with big ambitions, in Belgium, the Netherlands or beyond, your patterns set the tone for the whole organisation.
Three typical CEO blind spots
1. The hero complex
You built or saved the company by stepping in and fixing things. That strength becomes a weakness when:
you keep jumping into every operational fire
your name is on every important email
customers only trust you, not your team
The message to your organisation is clear:“Nothing really moves without me.”
That might feel good for your ego, but it kills scalability.
2. The clarity illusion
Inside your head, the strategy is crystal clear.You’ve thought about it in the car, in the shower, on holiday.
But your people don’t live in your head.
If you:
change direction in 1:1 conversations,
add projects without removing others,
use different messages with the board, the management team and the rest of the company…
… then the story becomes muddy, even if your intention is sharp.
You think you’re clear.Your team experiences confusion.
3. The feedback shield
Many CEOs say, “My door is always open.”But power dynamics don’t disappear because you say that.
If you react defensively, minimise concerns or punish bad news (even indirectly), people will stop telling you the truth. They will tell you what is safe.
Result:Your reality is filtered, and your blind spots grow.
A simple self-test you can do this week
You don’t need a big consultancy project to start working on this. Try this:
Pick 3–5 people
1 or 2 from your management team
1 key employee
optionally 1 board member or shareholder
Ask them one concrete question
“If you had to describe my leadership in 3 words – the good, the bad, the real – what would they be?”
Set the rules upfront
you don’t argue
you don’t explain
you only ask clarifying questions
Write down what you hearLook for patterns and recurring words. Those are your mirrors.
This is not about pleasing your team. It’s about getting a more accurate picture of how your leadership is experienced – in your SME, your scale-up, your Belgian or Dutch organisation.
How a 100-day plan helps you tackle your blind spots
Your first 100 days in a role – or a conscious 100-day reset when you are already in the seat – are an ideal container to work on your blind spots and ego.
In “100 Days to Make Your Mark as a CEO”, I use a structure with:
listening and diagnosis (first 30 days)
decisions and design (day 31–60)
implementation and visible action (day 61–100)
Self-awareness is not a separate project. You weave it into:
how you listen
which questions you ask
who you involve in decisions
what you stop doing yourself
That is how you grow as a leader while the company grows.Every CEO likes to believe they “know themselves”.You don’t get to lead a company in Belgium, the Netherlands or anywhere in Europe without at least some level of self-awareness.
But there is a big difference between knowing your CV and knowing your patterns.
In my work as a strategic sparring partner for CEOs of SMEs and scale-ups and in my book “100 Days to Make Your Mark as a CEO”, I see it again and again:strategy slides are sharp, the financial model makes sense… and still, the company gets stuck.
The bottleneck is often not the strategy, but the blind spots, ego and reflexes of the CEO.
Why this is a strategic topic, not a soft one
On paper this sounds like “personal development”.In reality, it is pure hard business.
Your blind spots as CEO directly influence:
which problems you see and which you ignore
who you promote and who you lose
which risks you dare to take
how honest your team dares to be with you
how fast decisions get made and implemented
If you run a family-owned SME, a fast-growing scale-up or a regional player with big ambitions, in Belgium, the Netherlands or beyond, your patterns set the tone for the whole organisation.
Three typical CEO blind spots
1. The hero complex
You built or saved the company by stepping in and fixing things. That strength becomes a weakness when:
you keep jumping into every operational fire
your name is on every important email
customers only trust you, not your team
The message to your organisation is clear:“Nothing really moves without me.”
That might feel good for your ego, but it kills scalability.
2. The clarity illusion
Inside your head, the strategy is crystal clear.You’ve thought about it in the car, in the shower, on holiday.
But your people don’t live in your head.
If you:
change direction in 1:1 conversations,
add projects without removing others,
use different messages with the board, the management team and the rest of the company…
… then the story becomes muddy, even if your intention is sharp.
You think you’re clear.Your team experiences confusion.
3. The feedback shield
Many CEOs say, “My door is always open.”But power dynamics don’t disappear because you say that.
If you react defensively, minimise concerns or punish bad news (even indirectly), people will stop telling you the truth. They will tell you what is safe.
Result:Your reality is filtered, and your blind spots grow.
A simple self-test you can do this week
You don’t need a big consultancy project to start working on this. Try this:
Pick 3–5 people
1 or 2 from your management team
1 key employee
optionally 1 board member or shareholder
Ask them one concrete question
“If you had to describe my leadership in 3 words – the good, the bad, the real – what would they be?”
Set the rules upfront
you don’t argue
you don’t explain
you only ask clarifying questions
Write down what you hearLook for patterns and recurring words. Those are your mirrors.
This is not about pleasing your team. It’s about getting a more accurate picture of how your leadership is experienced – in your SME, your scale-up, your Belgian or Dutch organisation.
How a 100-day plan helps you tackle your blind spots
Your first 100 days in a role – or a conscious 100-day reset when you are already in the seat – are an ideal container to work on your blind spots and ego.
In “100 Days to Make Your Mark as a CEO”, I use a structure with:
listening and diagnosis (first 30 days)
decisions and design (day 31–60)
implementation and visible action (day 61–100)
Self-awareness is not a separate project. You weave it into:
how you listen
which questions you ask
who you involve in decisions
what you stop doing yourself
That is how you grow as a leader while the company grows.
In “100 Days to Make Your Mark as a CEO” I start with the person behind the title. Because your company cannot be structurally healthier than the person who leads it.
If you want to work on this in a structured way for your SME or scale-up in Belgium or the Netherlands, that’s exactly why you should buy the book: https://www.lannoo.be/nl/100-days-make-your-mark-ceo
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