Be strong and stop agonising
We overanalyse our weaknesses and don’t play to our strengths
MANY industries are experiencing difficult market conditions, and their leaders are being challenged to operate at optimal capacity.
During such times, leaders often panic, especially because, more and more, their performances are scrutinised and evaluated in terms of short-term targets rather than long-term goals.
They end up adopting a survivalist mindset, one that prompts some to start looking after their own interests instead of prioritising the needs of the organisations they lead.
We are seeing the cost of this behaviour today in terms of how some of our biggest institutions are run. These days no one is surprised to hear of leaders wasting limited institutional resources for their own personal gain.
There must be other ways leaders can respond in times of pressure.
I am a big advocate for going back to basics and choosing to lead from your strengths, instead of your fears.
After all, the way to add most value to an organisation is to serve it from the very strengths that emerge from your natural talents. This can be far more effective than trying to mimic or lead in a manner that is foreign to you.
Leading from our strengths is an opportunity that is often missed, because we always tend to give more emphasis to our weaknesses — especially during tough times.
During performance-feedback conversations, we are quick to take detailed notes on the constructive feedback we receive about where we could improve, but barely give any attention to the feedback on our strengths.
This overemphasis on weaknesses results in leaders who spend their time working hard to overcome their deficiencies — instead of concentrating on the traits that could make them great: their strengths.
Think of athletes such as Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo and Caster Semenya. They are great athletes because they found out what they were good at and then invested in continuously developing those strengths.
I am not advocating that we all ignore our weaknesses. The point is that we spend too much time trying to perfect that which is not core to our strengths.
I often recommend that, when we work on our weaknesses, the goal should be to get to average — good enough, not world class — especially when our weaknesses inhibit our performance.
The simplest way to think about this is to embrace the fact that you will be remembered for the legacy you leave.
No one remembers you for the things you struggled with — they remember you for the traits which made you exceptional, because that is when you have the most impact.
Being exceptional comes from continuously developing the traits that make you someone worth admiring.
This strength-based approach to leadership is even more critical for entrepreneurs, who are often challenged to juggle different roles at the same time.
As soon as the venture can afford it, it is best to hire for, or outsource, all the functions that are not the founding team’s areas of strength. Otherwise, the founders end up crippling the business.
There is a good tool called StrengthsFinder, often used by teams around the world to optimise their performance by becoming more aware of each other’s strengths.
It was developed by Tom Rath, who wrote the bestseller StrengthsFinder 2.0. When teams start using the language of strengths, they are far better at leaning on each other’s strengths than they are at overanalysing each other’s weaknesses.
The StrengthsFinder also helps teams discover significant capability gaps.
For example, if a leadership team lacks at least one person in each of the strategic, relationship, influence and execution skill-set categories described, the team needs to wake up to the fact it requires external support or additional hiring.
The greater the confidence the leader has in their strengths, the more comfortable they become in working with people whose strengths are the opposite to theirs.
We should also not be afraid to bring along people who have complementary skills to our own.
They should not be viewed as a threat — they are enablers for organisational success. As long as their values are aligned with those of the organisation, there should not be much concern about bringing them along.
Think of all the leaders we admire and respect: we always remember them for a limited set of characteristics. Quite often, these characteristics are their strengths. They used their strengths so effectively that the world could not help but notice.
They did not spend their existences trying to be someone else — they chose to be true to what is authentic to them.