Don’t Let Your Strength Become Your Weakness
Posted in Leadership, Personal Growth on 21. Oct, 2009
Moderation is a quality that’s easily under-appreciated, especially for things that are generally accepted as desirable or good. Take positive character attributes—is it possible to have too much?
Gill Corkindale at the Harvard Business Blog argues that the answer is yes, because our biggest strengths can easily become our biggest weaknesses, often unexpectedly.
“There is always an optimal point: confidence that doesn’t border on arrogance, wit that doesn’t slide into sarcasm, and diligence that doesn’t become perfectionism. I have observed many leaders who have fallen into the strengths/weaknesses trap. Having been praised and rewarded for demonstrating particular strengths throughout their careers, they become blind to the shadow sides of these strengths. Often, this blind spot can derail a career.”
It makes sense that even a good thing can be taken too far, but most people probably don’t consider the possibility that their strongest traits could actually cause them harm. Citing a decade-long study of 18,000 UK leaders, Gill explains:
"They identified 11 derailers — strengths which turned into flaws under pressure. These include shrewd-mistrustful; charming-manipulative; vivacious-dramatic; and diligent-perfectionist. These "Dark Side Characteristics" were present in 85 percent of the leaders surveyed, with 16 percent having three dark-side characteristics."
Only by acknowledging potential “dark sides” of strengths can the need for moderation become apparent—if there aren’t any drawbacks, how could more NOT be better?
Check out Gill’s thoughts or the original study for more.
-Trey
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I have caught myself several times beginning to correct co-workers or managers. I’m a detail oriented person, and realize that its not always the best choice to constantly correct people over small details on a frequent basis. Moderation is most certainly key even regarding good qualities or characteristics.