Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

Episode: Leadership Blind Spots That Hold You Back
Date: September 4, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Craig Groeschel delves into the often unseen but deeply impactful "leadership blind spots" that can undermine teams and stifle organizational growth—even when everything looks good on the surface. He shares personal stories and practical strategies, focusing on two of the four most common blind spots:

1. Leaders who lead up well but lead down poorly
2. Leaders who hit the goals but hurt the team

Craig emphasizes the urgent need for leaders to look beyond metrics and proactively uncover the subtle issues that could be sabotaging their culture and results.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Leadership Blind Spots Matter

• Leadership threats aren’t always obvious. Numbers may look good and visible problems might be under control, but “the most dangerous threats are the problems that you don't see until it's too late.” (00:14)
• Problems deeper in the organization are “often closer to the day-to-day activities”—not always visible from the top. (01:05)
• Surface-level alignment can trick leaders: “Everybody kind of nods in meetings, but then they complain in private.” (01:44)
• Silent turnover: Good people quietly quit or disengage, even if formally they’re still on the team. (02:10)

The Four Core Leadership Blind Spots

Craig introduces four hidden problems:

1. Leaders who lead up well but lead down poorly
2. Leaders who hit the goals but hurt the team
3. Leaders who care about people but tolerate underperformance (to be discussed next month)
4. Leaders who keep control but kill ownership (to be discussed next month)

Today's episode focuses on the first two.

Blind Spot #1: Leading Up Well, Leading Down Poorly

• “Some leaders are strong up the ladder, but weak on the ground.” (08:25)
• Leaders may look effective to their superiors but have a negative reputation among their direct reports.
• Craig's personal experience: It took him years to recognize this. “This was a blind spot for me for years. … It was a problem I didn't recognize until probably a decade or so into my leadership.” (04:10)
• A trusted leader repeatedly lost good team members; exit interviews revealed a consistent pattern of controlling, dominant leadership downward.
• The damage can be significant: Good people are lost, and worse, even hurt.

How to Identify This Blind Spot

Craig offers three signals to watch for:

1. Unusually high turnover:
   “Look for unusually high turnover. … Pay attention.” (11:05)

2. Blame shifting:
   “If this leader takes all the credit for the wins … but rarely takes responsibility for the losses, you actually might have a problem.” (12:20)
   Craig’s rule: “We don't cast blame, we take responsibility.” (12:48)

3. Team silence:
   “Their silence often signals fear, not alignment.” (13:33)
   If team meetings are quiet and team members don’t offer input, they might be afraid of consequences.

Leadership Reminder:
“It’s not about going on a witch hunt … but you have to be intuitive and listen for deeper problems.” (14:55)

“One of your top leadership objectives is to see problems early and solve problems quickly.” (15:26)

Blind Spot #2: Hitting Goals, Hurting the Team

• Some leaders deliver results but at a cost to culture and team well-being.
• “You can have a team member that's getting really good results … but behind the wins, sometimes their team members are actually struggling.” (17:04)
• Symptoms:
  • Burnout
  • Resentment
  • Loss of passion ("people that used to love their jobs now just endure them")

Causes

• Driving too hard: Some leaders over-emphasize urgency and deadlines, creating long-term stress.
• Neglect: Not the pressure but lack of genuine care—“the leader … loves what the team produces but forgets to actually love the team as people.” (19:32)
• Leaders may celebrate work wins but ignore team members’ personal lives and milestones.

The Right Approach to Leadership Results

• “We don’t just create wins. We love people.” (20:40)
• “Did we win in the right way? Did we win in a way that honored the people?” (22:19)
• “No one had to lose themselves just to hit the goal.” (22:41)
• In hard seasons, balance is key: Push when needed, but “after, if we lead through a hard season, … give them some extra time off or whatever.” (23:05)

Making Care Tangible

• “Don’t ever assume that your team knows that you care. … You have to deal [with it] all the time, all the time, all the time.” (24:30)

• Craig’s four essential words for leading and loving people: "I notice and you matter."

  • “It’s not just I notice what you do, but I notice you as a person and you matter.” (25:10)

• Spiritual perspective:
  “If you get results but don’t love people, you’re not leading in a way that honors God.” (26:06)

How to Detect This Blind Spot

1. Performance without appreciation:
   “If the team hits the target, but the team doesn’t feel valued, it’s not a win.” (27:15)

2. Surface-level buy-in:
   “The team kind of agrees. … Behind the scenes, they disagree or they're checked out.” (27:38)

• Some team members quiet quit not because of laziness, but because they’re “tired of bringing their best and being taken for granted … of feeling like a tool to serve your vision instead of a person that matters.” (28:11)

“You can't lead people effectively if you don't love people deeply. … If you care about results but not the people that you lead, eventually you’ll lose both.” (29:25)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Some leaders are strong up the ladder, but weak on the ground.” – Craig Groeschel (08:25)
• “We don't cast blame, we take responsibility.” – Craig Groeschel (12:48)
• “Their silence often signals fear, not alignment.” – Craig Groeschel (13:33)
• “Did we win in the right way? Did we win in a way that honored the people?” – Craig Groeschel (22:19)
• “I notice and you matter.” – Craig Groeschel (25:10)
• “If you care about results but not the people that you lead, eventually you’ll lose both.” – Craig Groeschel (29:25)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–02:30 – Introduction to hidden leadership threats
• 02:31–03:59 – Four leadership blind spots overview
• 04:00–08:25 – Personal story about leading up/down blind spot
• 08:26–15:45 – How to identify and address leaders who lead up but not down
• 15:46–23:20 – Leaders who hit goals but hurt teams and why that matters
• 23:21–29:40 – Making appreciation tangible; spiritual perspective and wrap-up
• 29:41–end – Recap, encouragement, and next month’s topics preview

Closing Thoughts and Wisdom

• More is happening in your organization than you realize—especially as you grow and rise.
  “The higher you rise, unfortunately, the less you tend to know.” (30:01)
• “Don’t be discouraged” if you discover blind spots; recognition is the first step to improvement. (31:50)
• “Remain humble, trust your instincts…and listen for what you hear and what you don’t hear.” (32:00)
• “Don’t settle for anything less than special. God has given you everything you need to do everything that he’s called you to do.” (34:10)
• “Everyone wins when the leader gets better.” (34:45)

Next Episode:
Craig will address blind spots 3 and 4:

• Leaders who care about people but tolerate underperformance
• Leaders who keep control but kill ownership

Resource mentioned:
Free leadership assessment at cglp.com

This summary encapsulates the spirit and actionable insights of the episode, carrying forward Craig Groeschel’s encouragement and challenge to uncover and address unseen barriers to healthy, effective leadership.