Is my strength becoming a weakness?
I am not the type to spend time thinking about how someone came up with an idea (check out this thing I learned today reading LinkedIn…never would have asked the question, but love knowing the answer), why someone is making the choices they’re making (though that’s sometimes an interesting exercise), or how to build the next great thing we all need.
I spend a lot of time in my head playing out scenarios, reviewing what’s happened, thinking about what I said or wish I had said, and trying to plan for the future. On the face of it, these aren’t bad things to do. However, they need to be in balance with two other critical items - feeling and doing.
If you’re familiar with the Enneagram, you know the triad of feeling, thinking, and doing and that we all have one that we lean on most heavily. For me, the order goes: thinking, doing, and then feeling. If you know me well, you’re likely not too surprised. I am not an Enneagram expert, so I will stop here with all the insights from that area.
As leaders, we need to know what differentiates us and what will slow us down. I facilitated a workshop last week with a leadership team and one of the exercises we did focused on using Gallup’s Strengths Assessment to understand how individual strengths can support the team. Gallup (and other assessments) always spotlight that the things that are our strengths can also become our weaknesses when overused or under stress.
To go back to my personal example…my constant thinking is a strength because I’m always trying to pull the threads of various conversations, things I’ve read and listened to, and ideas into something that will support all of you who read my content or work with me.
The downside is that I sometimes spend too much time thinking about improving an idea. The good news is that I’m not stuck in the paralysis of not moving ahead; I’m in the “pebble in my shoe” mode. (I wrote a post about this topic during my early writing, which you can check out here.)
Over the past few weeks, I have spent time trying to improve the language in messaging rather than with people truly testing out what’s in my head. I’m focusing on the wrong challenge…likely because it’s easier and safer… and I love the exercise of trying to make things better.
As you consider your strengths and when they become weaknesses, what is preventing you from making forward or quick progress?
As we head into the end of the summer phase, it’s always a good opportunity to reflect and refine your strategy for the final third of the year. Schedule a slot using this link if a detailed strategy and planning will help you thrive in the coming months.