How To Identify Your Weaknesses and What To Do About Them

“If you think a weakness can be turned into a strength, I hate to tell you this, but that’s another weakness.”

- Jack Handy

I used to look at my weaknesses--things that tripped me up or lowered my performance average--as the foundation for my personal improvement goals. Those weakness-based goals became the source of perpetual “to-do” lists full of items that never got checked off. Why? Because I did not enjoy the activities involved and I had no interest in the area I was trying to improve. I was setting these goals to protect my fragile ego from accepting the fact that there were simply some things that I did not do well.

Some of you may think that these are the words of a wimp. After all, there are many people who derive extreme pleasure from conquering a weakness, wearing it like a badge of honor. Well, I’ve done that...I’ve pushed through weaknesses, too...but only to find a hollow feeling of success on the other side. I’d later wonder why I had pushed so hard at something that I didn’t enjoy in the first place.

Then, I decided that I’d rather be great at a few things than marginal at many. I stopped focusing on trying to turn my weaknesses into strengths, and instead found ways to work around them. I’ve found that the more I understand how and why they impact my performance, the more I am able to utilize my strengths to overcome them or expend a limited amount of energy pushing through them.

As long as you view your weaknesses as things that must be improved or eliminated, you risk engaging in energy-sapping activities or creating to-do lists that never get done, and therefore create feelings of guilt and frustration. So let’s start by just considering that our weaknesses are things that we must be aware of. That awareness, along with awareness of our strengths, will ultimately help us become more confident.

Here are a few activities that can help you increase that confidence-building awareness:

- Look at the results from previous personality or strengths assessments you’ve completed. Take note of the comments made about potential weaknesses or blind spots. Observe yourself over the next week, looking for evidence that supports or opposes those comments.

- Take time to evaluate your interactions with people, whether at meetings, presentations, or during informal conversations. Identify what felt the least comfortable to you. Perhaps you felt unprepared, too stiff, or disorganized. Or maybe you noticed that people seemed to tune you out, asked questions you couldn’t answer confidently, or had consistently puzzled looks on their faces. You might then ask for feedback from the group. I’ve found a great resource for anonymous feedback collection at www.Rypple.com. Daniel Debow and his team have set up a great system--it's free, it’s easy to set up, and it helps you get the specific information you need.

- Talk with 3-4 people closest to you, and ask them for their help in identifying your weaknesses. You might ask a question like, “What is one thing that you believe trips me up or stands in the way of my success?” If they are hesitant to share openly with you, or they give only positive comments, you might offer your own observations of yourself and ask for their thoughts.

- Ask your boss which of your performance areas give them concern. If they’re not forthcoming in response to that question (few are), ask them what types of assignments they don’t think you’re ready to handle, and most importantly, why.

Once you’ve collected information from a variety of sources, pull out the recurring themes.
What was surprising to you?
Those things may be your blind spots.
What things don’t come naturally for you?
Those may be your weaknesses.
Which one stands in the way of your success?
That one could become (or already is) your Achilles’ heel.

One of your greatest weaknesses could one day become your greatest strength, but not without a lot of effort. A more reasonable approach may be to find ways to mitigate the effects of your weaknesses, perhaps by learning a couple of critical skills that would increase your success and sense of fulfillment. What actions will you take to feel more confident today?

I am going to be blogging about my personal exploration of these questions and the surprising answers that I have discovered. Getting these questions answered is not going to be easy. It’s not for the faint at heart. But when you learn more about yourself--the good and the “other”--you can make new choices that will leave you feeling even stronger than before.

Will you join me in this challenge? You, too, can share your journey of discovery and the “a-ha!” moments that will teach and inspire us all, just by commenting on my most recent post here. You can leave an anonymous comment if you like, and I do moderate comments just to make sure that spammers don’t interfere. I look forward to hearing about your growing awareness and confidence...Cheers!