Goldman VC Warns on Executive 'Blind Spots'
Goldman Sachs Vice Chair Rob Kaplan is warning senior executives that they are vulnerable to developing "blind spots" as their organizations scale. Kaplan cautions that "pretty soon the bosses are no longer watching you," and urges leaders to actively solicit feedback to avoid complacency.
Robert Kaplan's perspective is shaped by a career spanning the highest levels of finance and policy. Before his current role as Vice Chairman at Goldman Sachs, he served as President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and was a professor and senior associate dean at Harvard Business School. He is also the author of three books on leadership. The core issue Kaplan identifies is that as executives ascend, the feedback loop breaks. Senior colleagues are no longer monitoring their work, and the primary observers become subordinates. This creates an echo chamber where leaders may continue relying on strengths that are no longer relevant, fostering what Kaplan calls "a wall" in their careers. This structural isolation is a known catalyst for leadership blind spots, which can manifest as a failure to recognize shifting market fundamentals or internal cultural decay. These are not just personal failings; they are governance risks that can lead to strategic errors, missed opportunities, and significant financial losses. A recent example of such blind spots can be seen in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Former CEO Gregory Becker was criticized by regulators for failing to manage interest rate risks, a "glaring" vulnerability given the bank's concentrated client base. Despite the impending crisis, Becker projected confidence and, even after the collapse, could not identify any personal mistakes in testimony before Congress. This failure to see and act on obvious risks had catastrophic consequences. In the 24 hours before its collapse, depositors withdrew $42 billion, leading to the bank's seizure by regulators. The event highlighted how a leader's inability to solicit and act on critical feedback can directly contribute to a firm's demise. To counter this, Kaplan advocates for leaders to actively "cultivate your subordinates as your coaches." He suggests practical steps like holding regular skip-level meetings to create an atmosphere of debate and solicit candid, unfiltered feedback from deeper within the organization. The phenomenon extends beyond individual companies, with research showing a significant disconnect between executive perception and employee reality. A Harvard Business Review study found that while 64% of executives believe their teams are aligned with strategy, only 28% of employees feel the same. This gap is a fertile ground for the kind of blind spots Kaplan warns against.
