Managing Your Weaknesses: Don't Ignore Them!

Much has been made of the strengths-based management approach, endorsed by Peter Drucker, and popularized by Marcus Buckingham. As this article from Brian Brim in the Gallup Management Journal points out, focusing on your strengths does not mean ignoring your weaknesses.

In the article, he offers sound advice for managing your weaknesses when struggling with a task, including:

- Getting education and training for skills or knowledge that you lack
- Leveraging your natural talents to do the job (or finding your own way to go about it)
- Forming complementary partnerships
- Just giving it your best shot, knowing there are other things you do well
- If the above alternatives don't work, stop doing it or find a new role!

Here's the article. It's well worth reading...

Debunking Strengths Myths #1

Leadership Wisdom : Pig Style

I recently came across an excellent leadership blog site called PigWisdom. It's run by Jack Hayhow, author of The Wisdom of the Flying Pig, and it's full of brief little stories and tips that can energize and enlighten any leader.

I noticed one of the chapters in Hayhow's book borrows it's title from the old adage, "Don't try to teach a pig to sing---it wastes your time and annoys the pig."

It's a cute saying, but many leaders try to do just that by having employees work out of their natural area of strength. As gurus from Peter Drucker to Marcus Buckingham have preached, this is not a wise use of our resources. Plus, it annoys the human.

Meanwhile, here's the PigWisdom blog site. Enjoy.

PigWisdom.com

Einstein Project Management Tip #7: Focus on Strengths

Marcus Buckingham said it in all three of his books. Peter Drucker said it. Warren Bennis said it. Dennis Littky said it. And Albert Einstein said it.

Specifically, Einstein said:

"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them."

I think all the great thinkers agree that it's better to focus on strengths (yours and the individuals on your team) than it is to endure the futility of trying to correct weaknesses.

If we accept our limits and those of the people on our team (after all, as Marcus Buckingham points out, people's nature doesn't change all that much), then paradoxically we can rise beyond those limits.

If so many experts agree, then why do organizations persist in trying to develop people's weak areas to make "perfectly rounded people" instead of building on their strengths? If we instead worked around people's weaknesses, either with complementary partners, more fitting assignments, or support systems, we'd see much more productivity. Perhaps Peter Drucker said it best: "Make weaknesses irrelevant."