Weaknesses – 2

Hi there! Thanks for rejoining us on this topic!

Last time we proposed that there are several ways to address shortcomings.

• Who are you – really?
• Can you stop doing what highlights the weakness?
• Can someone else do this activity instead?
• If you have to do it can you use a different approach that better aligns with your talents?

So let’s start with that first one.

Who are you – really? Not your name, or demographic, but what defines you, your contributions, your impact on the world around you?

I learned there are three versions of things in life. What you think something is, what it actually is, and what it could be.

To find out who you actually are my strongest advice is if you haven’t done it already take the Clifton Strengths assessment. If you have taken it already then go and find your results!

Get some data. What’s dominant in your talent profile? How do you identify with it? Can you reach for it readily? These dominant themes are like your favorite tools. For me it’s a hammer, or a screwdriver. You reach for yours so naturally you don’t even know you’re doing it sometimes! We’ll spend future time on developing and amplifying these areas at another time so for now let’s return to the stuff that torments us

If you can get the full report, check out what’s at the bottom too.

That’s not weakness. It’s just stuff or parts of your strengths profile way down in the bottom of your toolbox. Things that are very difficult to access for you. So, at the bottom these aspects of talent are also not likely to be worth developing. Gallup helps us here too in that the likely outcome of investing here will at best lead to average performance.  Not a good ROI!

Be deliberate here. Decide not to waste time on this stuff and feel okay about it. Know that these areas of talent are not your thing. Help others know this too.

I have a faucet wrench. It lives all the way at the bottom of my toolbox. I’ve used it maybe 4 times, ever! It was worth having it available and I got by being barely average using it but I am not now nor ever planning to be a plumber! I don’t need to be the expert here!

People are almost always not good at everything. According to Gallup (and hundreds of thousands of assessments and studies), striving for well roundedness is a ridiculous approach. At best it ends in an “average” performance. Is that how you want to define your life? You were average at everything? Not very inspiring reading huh?

Albert Einstein suggested that Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing its stupid.

Let me tell you. That mindset to accept this is incredibly freeing. Knowing and telling others what your thing is not is empowering! The result when we share this is clarity. As a manager you know as a result why a person doesn’t give us great output in a given activity. We all know how we can help complement what a person does do well, as a team we now know where we fit with each other.

So that’s the first approach done. Tune back in soon if you’re interested in learning more about the other strategies we mentioned and how to put them to use!