When Power Disconnects: Hubris Syndrome and Strategic Blindness in Leadership

Why Do Some Leaders Stop Seeing the Obvious?

You've seen the pattern before: a brilliant CEO makes decisions disconnected from reality. Sensible proposals are dismissed. The team isn’t heard. A product is launched that no one (outside) asked for. Or worse, the leader clings to a business model that no longer reflects society’s values.

This isn’t always about pure ego or lack of competence. Often, it's the result of two subtle forces that affect leaders who have been in power too long without staying in direct contact with the world around them — with the planet and society. These forces are known as the Hubris Syndrome and Strategic Blindness. Let me explain.

Hubris Syndrome: The Illusion of Infallibility

The Hubris Syndrome is a concept coined by David Owen, a neurologist and former British minister, to describe a psychological transformation in individuals who hold power for extended periods. The leader gradually enters a mindset where:

• They become excessively confident in their judgment, believing their wisdom, experience, or intuition is infallible.

• They dismiss dissenting opinions and critical voices, unable to tolerate friction or contradiction.

• They make high-risk decisions without consulting the team — or even looking at data or reports.

• They believe the rules don’t apply to them or their company — “That regulation isn’t for us.”

• They begin to see themselves as a kind of “savior” or unique figure in their field.

This isn’t clinical narcissism, but it’s close. The difference is that Hubris can affect rational, ethical people, simply due to the accumulated effect of power and isolation. The problem isn’t lack of intelligence — it’s lack of connection.

Strategic Blindness: When You Stop Seeing What Matters

Strategic blindness occurs when a leader — and by extension, the organization — stops perceiving critical changes in the external environment. They fail to notice that social values have shifted. That society changes when it wants to. That their product no longer solves a real problem. Or that their messaging no longer resonates with the new generations.

Why does this happen?

• Because they spend too much time inside the organization, their office, their internal world — doing the same things with the same people.

• Because they surround themselves with like-minded individuals. There’s no friction. Everyone thinks the same.

• Because they prioritize internal indicators (sales, margins, productivity, internal engagement) over external signals (consumer behavior changes, regulatory shifts, social movements, reputational pressure, spontaneous community feedback).

• Because they reject data or insights that challenge the current business model — often not because they’re wrong, but because they’re uncomfortable.

• Simply put, they spend zero time listening to or observing anything outside the "business bubble."

  
  

Strategic blindness isn’t a lack of data. The data often exists — but it’s not seen, understood, or deemed relevant. Or worse: it's deliberately ignored. And that's the real danger — believing you're seeing clearly when you’ve already stopped looking.

The Consequences: Losing Relevance and Touch with Reality

When Hubris Syndrome and strategic blindness combine, a company can spiral into disconnection. Decisions are made without regard for social, environmental, or cultural impact. The executive team launches what they believe will work — without checking in with the real world. Clients, young talent, the media, and communities start to send signals... but no one inside knows how to read them.

We've seen it before: companies that ignored internal warnings on sustainability, leaders who dismissed shifting consumer values, and brands that slowly became irrelevant.

How to Prevent Hubris Syndrome and Strategic Blindness

The solution is as simple as reconnecting with the real world. Here are key practices that help maintain strategic clarity and avoid these leadership traps:

• Listen to uncomfortable voices. Create safe spaces for feedback at all levels. Invite critical customers, young people, or outsiders. Meet with NGOs, community leaders, or alternative suppliers. Ask the hard questions: What are we missing because we’re disconnected?

• Step out of the bubble (literally and metaphorically). Walk through your city with no business agenda. Observe. Listen. Use public transport. Visit supermarkets. Check real prices. Attend events outside your industry. If you sell something real people use — go live among them.

• Reread your data with fresh eyes. Don’t limit yourself to classic KPIs. Dig into cultural trends. Accept reports that challenge your worldview. Ask for qualitative insights, interviews with users, and customer stories. Then take that data and go have coffee in a neighborhood that’s not yours.

• Cultivate self-awareness. External connection starts with internal clarity. Pause. Reflect. Surround yourself with mentors who don’t depend on you and will say what others won’t — those who see what you no longer do.

• Look for early warning signs. When everything seems fine but you can't explain why… when nothing surprises you anymore… when criticism irritates you more than it interests you… or when you defend instead of asking questions — those are signs you’re starting to lose perspective.

Conclusion: Power with Consciousness

Power disconnects — not because it corrupts, but because it isolates. And if a leader doesn’t cultivate an active connection to society, the planet, the team, and themselves, they lose their compass.

Hubris Syndrome and strategic blindness don’t strike suddenly. They creep in slowly, disguised as routine, success, or experience. That’s why leading today means more than having a vision — it means seeing clearly and listening deeply.

The leadership of the future isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about asking the right questions, to the right people, at the right time.

Because no business can succeed in a world it no longer understands. And no CEO can lead what they can no longer see.