BEWARE OF YOUR STRENGTHS

With competition and all of the other challenges we face daily, it may seem odd that we should be concerned with what we do best. After all, if it is a strength why do we need to worry about it? Left unchecked, however, our greatest strength can quickly become our greatest weakness.When we discover a strength we tend to apply it wherever possible. Like the super salesperson who can’t quit selling or the super analytic who never stops analyzing, we all find comfort in our core strengths. It is the behavior we gravitate toward, as it comes so naturally to us.

Of course, we all have weaknesses, too, and in our society it is not hard to know them. Whether through results or others our weaknesses are made clear. We are obligated to do what we can to mitigate their impact by learning to overcome or offset them. It takes effort, creativity and commitment to accomplish this. We have to push ourselves and be disciplined because no one enjoys dealing with their weaknesses. It is not easy admitting and then addressing our weaknesses but successful leaders are willing to do both.

While dealing with our weaknesses tends to be more of a push, dealing with our strengths is often more of a pull. We must honestly account for our strengths and learn to rein them in. Our strengths can have a mind of their own and their forward momentum may sometimes get us in trouble. Pulling back on a strength can be as difficult as overcoming a weakness. It too requires an incredible amount of commitment and self-awareness.

It is important that we choose to take control of our strengths because where we are strongest is where we are most vulnerable. The decisive leader must guard against making all the decisions. The compassionate leader must be careful not to avoid tough people decisions. The methodical, deliberative leader must make a decision. The driven leader must find balance. The articulate leader must know when to keep quiet. The detailed leader must look at the big picture. The black and white leader must learn to see gray. The perfectionist leader must not micro-manage. The challenge is to know thyself. If we allow our strengths unbounded freedom we risk transforming them into our greatest weakness.

There is also a lesson here for companies. If a company is the biggest today but a competitor takes that away, then their greatest strength has vanished and now they are burdened with the same costs but no longer a clear identity in the marketplace. The same is true for the company whose identity is tied to having the lowest price. If this is lost then they have no reason for being. Their greatest strength becomes a weakness until they regain the low price mantle or develop a new strategy.

At some point all strategies become ineffective. Events and tastes change and we must keep up. There is ample evidence of previous behemoths that didn’t: Think GM. Think Kmart. Think Levitz. These are companies whose strength became a weakness and were unwilling or unable to invest to change. A certain arrogance of power can set in that is life threatening for any company. Avoiding the cost of change can prove costly indeed.

We must be acutely aware of our personal as well as our company’s strengths and know that our greatest strengths can quickly become our greatest weaknesses.