Change is coming by Barbara Beggs

Are Your Strengths Working for You or Against You?

February 3rd, 2010

Many of today’s thought leaders encourage us to look to our strengths in order to succeed. That makes perfect sense to me.  I think of my strengths as being right-handed and my weaknesses as left-handed. When I sprained my wrist, I could write left handed. But it was uncomfortable, not very good and awfully slow. So it is with our weaknesses.

For $10, I recently bought “StrengthsFinder 2.0” from Amazon.com.  After taking an online assessment of your strengths, they will email you a twelve page report with lots of information about how to leverage your strengths.  A great investment and one I highly recommend.

What did I learn about myself? I have a love of information. I have a craving to know more. I collect and catalog all kinds of ideas. (Must be the explanation for all my books and files.) I am also highly strategic. It’s part of my nature to look for alternative approaches. I love making connections and finding trends between all those ideas I collect. I like to turn those thoughts into action and have a high need for achievement.  Hmmm. Sounds like consulting, coaching and training is a good fit for me.

Management sage Peter Drucker said, “Often, a strength taken to extreme results in weakness. For example, perseverance may be strength until it becomes stubbornness.” 

Oh, so true. When my strengths are taken to an extreme, what happens? I drown in data. I spend untold hours going down every pig trail my research uncovers. I dither over so many choices.  Action immediately becomes history and I fail to savor my successes. I drive myself nuts.

Last week, a colleague shared a great way for me to channel some of this. He suggested that I ask myself, “Be honest. Is this story/information/spreadsheet useful? Or is it merely interesting?” If useful, great. But if it’s just interesting, walk away for now and when you can, return to it. It sure has helped with my time management and distraction this week.

You know, sometimes we have to be ready to hear the message.

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