If a bird focuses on walking, the bird will never fly.
I had spent years learning how to be a happy and fulfilled person. I typically excelled in discussions about how to improve our weaknesses or mitigate the risk associated with those who were falling short in their abilities. When I received the StrengthsFinder book as a gift from a friend, it shone a floodlight on gaps in my skills and quickly exposed how I had been working the wrong way up.
If you haven’t read it, the high-level concept is this:
you’re born with native talent, things that are relatively easy for you to do. Your job isn’t to turn your weaknesses into strengths but rather to multiply your strengths.
The book helped me make radical changes in the way I think about myself and others, and it’s informed much of the success I’ve had.
You can probably improve your strengths (where your personal skill curve slants upward) more effectively, by putting in less effort, than to improve your weaknesses (where your skill curve slants downward).
When we focus on our strengths, there are higher returns, both practically and emotionally — not only in the sense that we become better at what we do but also that it feels less like a struggle and more like an opportunity. This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t work on ourselves at all. Our weaknesses are like landmines, and you can’t walk away. But they do require a very different kind of attention from our strengths — starting with some cold hard truths.
The first step is to do an inventory of your weaknesses — write them out, own them, and make peace with them. They’re yours; turn them on their heads, while exploiting the strengths of others. This is a practical and, at the same time, very liberating approach.
And so when people ask me what my weaknesses are (as they still do in job interviews) I tell them the whole truth. Or at least the truth as I see it — and I add that the people in my life comprise an impressively diverse array of individuals with different strengths that complement mine, so that: ‘I get by on the fact that I know what I’m good at, and I let others participate who can handle the stuff I can’t. Then we make up a team and together we can do pretty much anything.’
Moreover, living in a biodiverse world means that you can always find those who are able to do — as you cannot — whatever task you want to perform. Put all these people together, and let them each perform those tasks for which they are best suited; yielding an overall set of qualities that is complementary — and, thus, far fitter than a single individual would ever be.
This goes not just for slimming certain body parts and expanding others, but also for leaders
The best leaders know they can’t do it all by themselves, or be the smartest person in the room, but can put together a team of people who are good at different things and let them run with whatever they do best. Young professionals should always be thinking about building networks and cultivating allies along their own strengths, with people who have their own strengths and complement those of the person developing the network. When they are needed, these people will already be there, rather than having to be hunted out later on.
So, avoid anyone who is unwilling to support your strengths, and reply with: That person is interested only in what I can do to bring him or her up, not what I can do to be the best me I can be. You’re more likely to be dragged than uplifted by people who do not appreciate your gifts and talents. Why spend time with people who discourage you from using your gifts and talents — the giver of goodness? So try to live, work, and play around people who find great things about you, and who want to urge you to be the best me you can be.
greatness is the product of our collective strengths. Focus on what you do best but build a network, complement your weaknesses, and prepare to embark on one heck of a ride. Instead of seeing your weaknesses as liabilities, see them as opportunities to reach out, collaborate, and enhance your collective power.
Together we can accomplish great things.