The Importance of Strengthening Your Weakness
We always hear a lot about finding and strengthening our strengths.
Sure, you should figure out what you are really good at, which is usually something that comes naturally to you and that you enjoy, and then yes, strengthen it to give you further leverage on that strength. Most people look at life this way when trying to determine a job or a career path.
That’s a good idea. But…
Do not neglect, you must also find and strengthen your weaknesses—those attributes or skills that you are not good in, but are critical for you to accomplish your important goals and aspirations. If you have a weakness, one that is essential to the achievement of your goals, you can’t just work on it, you have to ATTACK IT! If it’s truly a weakness, then it needs MORE attention than other aspects of your development that comes easier or faster.
Here at Your Employment Solutions, we believe in becoming self-directed, internalized, and well-rounded employees and believe that working with your weaknesses is a crucial part of doing so.
For the past few months in particular, YES staff members have been working on acknowledging their weaknesses and putting focus on strengthening them. Here are examples and opinions from some of our staff members who have been participating in this exercise:
BE BIFOCAL
“I believe it’s important to focus on your weakness and strengths. So you can improve on both aspects. If you don’t focus on the things that you can improve on you will never improve them. It’s also important to focus on your strengths. If you know what your strengths are you can use those to improve your weaknesses.” – Summer Johnson, North Salt Lake Recruiter
ROUND YOURSELF OUT
“While I think that it is important to build upon our strengths, I believe that it is equally important to understand and manage our weaknesses. Everyone has something that they could use a little work on. For me, one thing that I struggle with and have been working on is being more assertive. Obviously becoming more assertive for me is not going to happen over night but I try each day to improve on little things like being more direct with employees and remaining calm in the face of conflict by rehearsing what I am going to say in a certain situation.
By working on these things, I have been able to improve my communication skills, as well as develop more honest relationships with others. I think that when we focus on our weakness as well as our strengths, we are allowing ourselves to learn and grow to become better, well rounded individuals.” – Hallie Grunginger, On-Site Recruiter
LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY
“Nobody’s perfect and nobody knows everything. So in turn, admitting you have weaknesses ensures that you know you’re not perfect and you still have some learning to do. It’s a big step owning up to the fact that you don’t know everything.
In my opinion focusing on our weaknesses and working on them is what makes you who you are. It’s what makes you grow, learn and improve not only yourself but also the people around you. I like to be the kind of manager that is involved, not just barking out orders. I want to be able to know what I’m talking about because that is only going to help the people that are depending on me to teach them and make them their very best.
I’ve always known I’m not perfect but I always tried to act like I was to hide the fact that I did have weaknesses. I’ve learned over time that exposing your weaknesses and portraying your true self get’s you so much further in life.
Knowledge is abundant, but you can only gain knowledge when you admit your not all-knowing .” – Andrea Posell, Ogden Office Manager
JUST DO IT
“We all know that you can’t fix someone else’s problems until you fix your own, but the same goes for weaknesses. Its vital that we are honest with ourselves on what we need to improve on. We may be able to deceive everyone else but when it comes down to it you can’t fool the one that you see in the mirror everyday. What are you going to do to change? Are you willing to do what it takes?
I’m going to take a saying that everyone knows….”JUST DO IT”. “
Matt Dillon wrote, “When you’re honest about how you can change and grow, and where your weaknesses are, then you open a door for improvement and change.” – Chris Walker, North Salt Lake Recruiter and On-Site Manager
ADMIT IT, YOU SUCK AT SOME THINGS
“Admitting your weaknesses is not only healthy for you, but also for the people you work with. Understanding that there is something you can always improve on helps in keeping you grounded to the company you work for.
It takes a strong person to take a deep breath and say, “You know what, I’m not the greatest at this. In fact, this person is probably more proficient than I am.”
This small affirmation can make you feel like something has been lifted from you shoulders. While not using it as an excuse to improve on your weakness, but rather a realization that you can’t do everything, as much as you may try to convince yourself that you can. It relieves stress from yourself when you admit that you need to work on something (and commit to getting working on honing that weakness into a strength), and lets the other people you work with know that you appreciate and recognize that your weaknesses could be their strengths.” – Anna, Human Resources Assistant
YOUR STRENGTH IS YOUR WEAKNESS IS YOUR STRENGTH
“While working on my weaknesses I came across this list that I really like. This list has given me a different view on my weaknesses. Hidden in your weaknesses are your strengths. Every weakness has a corresponding strength.
- Disorganized —> Creative
- Inflexible —> Organized
- Stubborn —> Dedicated
- Inconsistent —> Flexible
- Obnoxious —> Enthusiastic
- Emotionless —> Calm
- Shy —> Reflective
- Irresponsible —> Adventurous
- Boring —> Responsible
- Unrealistic —> Positive
- Negative —> Realistic
- Intimidating —> Assertive
- Weak —> Humble
- Arrogant —> Self-Confident
- Indecisive —> Patient
- Impatient —> Passionate
You can learn to put a positive spin on your weaknesses with a bit of practice. I know that being positive about my weaknesses has really helped me.”
A positive attitude awakens inner strength, energy, motivation and initiative. – Stephanie Harpster, Human Resources Assistant
Hone in on your strengths, but don’t abandon your weaknesses. Do not neglect one for the other and you will find yourself in strong position to reach your goals at work and in life.
Alison Evans
Director of Human Resources
Your Employment Solutions
Facebook | Google+
