Leadership problems are not always caused by a lack of experience or knowledge. Sometimes, the behaviors holding a leader back are the ones they have stopped noticing.
In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, host Pete Shau talks with Arky Jones about personality, self-awareness, and the leadership blind spots that can shape how people communicate and manage others. Jones, creator of Personality Peek, challenges the idea that personality should be treated as a permanent label. Instead, he describes it as a snapshot of where someone is today and a tool for deciding where to grow next.
Recognizing Leadership Blind Spots
One of Jones’ central ideas is that personality is a “mirror, not a box.” People behave differently depending on the situation, relationship, and environment around them. A personality assessment, in his view, should help someone examine those behaviors rather than declare, “This is simply who I am.”
That distinction can be especially important for leaders. Jones explains that some behaviors may have developed for a valid reason earlier in life but no longer serve the person in their current environment. He compares those behaviors to a spacesuit that worked perfectly on the moon but would make little sense to keep wearing after returning to Earth.
Recognizing leadership blind spots begins with a willingness to examine familiar behaviors and ask whether they still produce the desired results.
Jones shares an example from his own experience. He once took pride in being the first person to offer a solution in a room because his answer was often right. After realizing his quickness could prevent others from contributing, he began intentionally waiting to speak. By listening first, he gained more information and sometimes discovered that the group could reach the solution without him.
When Leadership Standards Become a Blind Spot
For Jones, one of the most significant blind spots is contradiction: holding other people to standards that a person does not consistently apply to themselves.
In a workplace, that contradiction can create problems because employees notice when expectations are uneven. For leaders, identifying that gap requires more than evaluating a team’s performance. It requires applying the same scrutiny inward.
Jones repeatedly returns to the question of what is within a person’s control. Leaders can control their effort, actions, willingness to learn, and response to feedback. They can also recognize an old default behavior and deliberately practice a different response until a new approach becomes more natural.
That does not mean leaders need to become someone else. Jones argues that effective leaders learn to adapt while maintaining a strong sense of self. Growth comes from paying attention to what is working, acknowledging what is not, and remaining willing to change.
The conversation gives RTO leaders a reason to look beyond the performance of the people around them. Sometimes the most useful place to shine the light is on the habits, expectations, and reactions they bring to the team themselves.
Watch or listen to the full episode of The RTO Show Podcast, proudly sponsored by APRO, on Spotify.
