Awareness Is the Foundation of Everything

You can't fix what you can't see. And most high performers have massive blind spots.

That's the paradox executive coach Chris Woods encounters every day. The people who are already successful often have the biggest gaps in self-awareness -because they've gotten this far without needing to confront them.

"I think it really comes down to the word that I always say around this -awareness. Awareness of yourself, awareness of where you're putting your energy and your time."

The Blind Spot Problem

Chris experienced this himself when he first received coaching at Google:

"I was achieving and doing well and ascending within the organization. But I was doing it just through sheer force of will and other gifts that I had."

Success masked the blind spots. Force of will compensated for the gaps. Until it didn't.

When Chris finally got feedback through a 360 assessment, the patterns were clear -anonymized, but clear enough to recognize where the issues were coming from.

"Wow, okay, I can see where that comes from. I wouldn't have seen that otherwise."

Why Self-Assessment Isn't Enough

You'd think high performers would know themselves well. They've been succeeding, after all. But that's part of the problem.

"So that's the thing that was really impactful for me -that I was achieving and doing well, but there were things I wouldn't have seen otherwise."

Success creates confirmation bias. You assume what you're doing works, so you don't question it. The parts that are working overshadow the parts that aren't.

The 360 Feedback Approach

The gold standard, according to Chris, is getting feedback from people who work with you:

"The best scenario is when I work with people through a corporate engagement so that we can include some 360 feedback from other people that they work with and work for. Because oftentimes that will expose the blind spots."

When you hear the same feedback from multiple sources, it's hard to dismiss. That's when real awareness begins.

Tools for Self-Discovery

When 360 feedback isn't available, Chris uses assessments like the Enneagram and Clifton Strengths:

"What they'll do in those feedback is say, this is the type of person you are -whether it's your skills or your personality type. And this is how fear shows up for people like you."

These tools give you language for what you might already sense about yourself. And they point to predictable patterns:

"Hey, based on all these thousands of data points, they say people who do this -these are the great things they do, but they sometimes run into this. Does this resonate with you? And oftentimes they'll be like, you know what, now that you say that -yes."

Awareness Before Action

Here's what most people get wrong: They jump to solutions before understanding the problem.

Chris starts with awareness for a reason:

"It comes down to, a lot of times, you know, we have kind of trained ourselves to be distracted as opposed to being focused. And it's easy in this day and age to be distracted."

You can't build discipline on top of distraction. You can't leverage strengths you don't know you have. You can't fix patterns you can't see.

Awareness has to come first.

The Robin Williams Moment

When clients see themselves clearly -sometimes for the first time -Chris gives them permission to accept it:

"It's like Robin Williams' character in Good Will Hunting, when he says, 'It's not your fault. It's not your fault.' That's what I say to them -this is good. This is a way for you to see. If you're trying to beat yourself up on this, this comes with the territory."

Every strength has a shadow side. Every personality type has patterns that help and hurt. Awareness isn't about judgment -it's about recognition.

Building Your Own Awareness

Here's how to start seeing yourself more clearly:

1. Get outside feedback. Ask people who work with you what you're great at and where you struggle. Listen without defending.

2. Take an assessment. Clifton Strengths, Enneagram, DISC -pick one and actually read the results.

3. Track your time. Where you spend your hours reveals your real priorities, not your stated ones.

4. Notice your patterns. What situations consistently trip you up? What feedback do you keep hearing?

5. Find a mirror. A coach, mentor, or honest friend who will tell you what you can't see yourself.

You've gotten far on talent and will. But to go further, you need to see clearly.

Chris Woods is an executive coach whose book on strengths and fear is coming in Q1 2026. Learn more at chriswoodscoach.com.