Leading With Strengths
01/16/09
If you truly are driven by escaping mediocrity and accelerating achievement, you have to resist what most people do, which is focus on weaknesses. Here’s seven ideas to stimulate your thinking on strengths.
- Focus on Strengths. Stop focusing on weaknesses. What happens when you put 80% of your effort toward developing strengths, and 20% on overcoming weakness? You accelerate, you gain momentum, you achieve.
- Develop your strengths. Start by identifying things you do well, are passionate about, and have value. Then practice them in ways you obtain feedback. (see article on high performance)
- Embed strengths in your life. Seek a place where you can use your strengths every day.
- Leverage your strengths. Use consistency, congruence, and coherence to make your strengths part of your story. (see article)
- Know your shadow. The brighter the light, the deeper the shadow. Especially for mature leaders, it’s not weaknesses that cause problems, but overused strengths.
- Transcend your strengths. Lead from your position of strengths, but learn to do what needs to be done. Your strength may be patience, but sometimes you need to act boldly. Your strength may be quick analysis, but sometimes you need to facilitate a process that brings others along.
- Help others develop their strengths. Exceptional leaders empower others to focus, develop, embed, leverage, and transcend strengths. Help others find places to use their strengths - everyday. Is there anything that would make more of a difference? (see article on empowerment readiness)
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