Strengths and weaknesses can be our best friend and our worst enemy. At Ingenuity, we are big on knowing and working from our strengths. We do a workshop based on the book StrengthFinder 2.0 and every hire at Ingenuity has their strengths determined. We know what we are good at and why. Defining what makes us tick is great; but figuring out what stops the clock is equally as important.

Our weaknesses can derail us. Whether it is fear of failure, lack of self confidence, procrastination or disorganization, a weakness cannot always be overcome by a stellar strength. It is important to think about what weaknesses you have that make your job/life harder. When things aren’t going right, when your career isn’t heading where you want it to, what is the issue holding you back?

A friend of mine did not like public speaking, yet it was required for her job. It was definitely holding her career in check so she decided to face her fear head on and join the Toastmasters group in her area. Every meeting she had to stand before a group and speak. She hated it, but it worked. Another friend was incredibly disorganized. She produced great work, but it always took her longer than necessary and often things were turned in late because she was constantly losing things or couldn’t find what she needed to complete a project. She finally hired a professional organizer to come out and help her organize her home office and once everything was in its place, her productivity soared.

We always say to lead from your strengths and concentrate on what you do well. Great advice, as long as you are also aware of the weaknesses that hold you back. And it isn’t enough to know what they are, you need to figure out a way to help yourself overcome them or at least manage them. Don’t let a weakness take away from your shining strengths.

Question: What weakness is holding you back and what can you do to start overcoming it?