Why trying to improve your weaknesses is a waste of energy and what to do instead
We’ve all had those cookie-cutter job interview questions. You know the ones, “Tell us about your strengths,” and, “what are your weaknesses?” The answer to the latter is generally something like, “I’m a perfectionist, but I’m working on letting go of that to enable myself to work alongside others and harness my creative and collaborative skills.” Right?
Fast-forward to 2021... we need to be defining your zone of genius and amplifying our strengths... Every. Single. Day! Gallup research demonstrates that employees who work in their strength zone are six times as engaged as their peers. Let’s face it, you are going to be happier and more engaged when you showcase your strengths compared to struggling through your less proficient talents.
The cons of focussing only on your weaknesses
A study from 2016 found that we tend to see weaknesses as more changeable than strengths - which means we're more inclined to try to improve areas where we are weakest. When you spend too much time focusing on your weaknesses, you may leave behind your strengths altogether. And, you might even become discouraged and unbelieving about where your true strengths lie.
Something is your strength if:
It makes you feel successful.
You're drawn to it, even if you don't know why.
It fully engages you; when doing it, you often find yourself in a flow state.
After doing the activity, you feel energized, fulfilled, and powerful.
Do your weaknesses make you feel this way? Didn’t think so.
I discovered my strengths through my first business coach in 2015 and it blew my mind. Being told that I'm naturally contextual, I love daydreaming about the future and possibilities, and that I’m a lifelong learner was groundbreaking for me. It not only instilled a sense of confidence in my own skin, but a natural elevation in who I was as an individual and what unique qualities I had to offer the world. These strengths are the basis for my daily rituals and habits, without them I start to fall off track and perform lower than I would if I’m working towards them.
The pros of focusing on your strengths
Various studies have shown that when we focus on developing our strengths, we grow faster than when trying to improve our weaknesses. Plus, people who use their strengths are said to be happier, less stressed, and more confident.
There’s a lot to be said for emphasizing strength-building over the dog-eat-dog comparison route of improving weaknesses. So, the next step will be to determine what your strengths are. Ask your friends, colleagues and those who know you best to let you know what kinds of impacts your strengths have on them.
If the strengths you discover this way aren’t things you’ve focused on before, your first step may be as simple as starting to learn more about your newfound strength. You can start with something simple like taking a class or reading online tutorials. Then, you might find new ways to develop, harness and use your newfound brilliance.
The cons of focusing only on your strengths
Strengths can also become weaknesses. Your ability to be incredibly efficient at work could lead to burn out, as you constantly accept more and more tasks. Your attention to detail could lead to poor time management as it might cause you to constantly revise the tiny details, to maintain a certain level of what you may deem “perfect”. Your great leadership skills could lead to micromanagement as you continually strive to elevate your team.
It's important to be careful about ignoring your weaknesses altogether. Consider how you can use your strengths to establish your personal style in your weaker areas, as you work on improvement. For example, if you lack confidence in public speaking, but you have natural storytelling abilities, you can use this strength to create a compelling presentation - and that should help give you the confidence to speak to your peers.
It's more difficult to figure out how to grow your strengths when you've been actively using them for a while. When someone says "focus on your strengths," it's easy to read that as, just do what you’re good at and you won’t have to try. But that seems fairly limiting, right?
You may feel like you're already proficient and there's no more room for growth. However, there's always room for growth.
Harnessing your strengths and playing to them is something we at Achievher live and breathe by! It’s what we cover in our quarterly events, and it’s a GAME CHANGER when you are able to recognize your innate talents, the ones that come so easily and naturally to you, and you’re able to put them into action every single day.
