Every superhero has a weakness. To name a few, Superman weakens around kryptonite, Thor became weak when he was without his hammer, Storm has claustrophobia, Aquaman starts to become weak after an hour of being away from salt water, and the Flash can’t move fast when he is around cold temperature. Just like superheroes having a weakness, so do our strengths. As you become stronger and learn to become interdependent on your strengths, you will find how your strengths also possess a barrier that can be amplified as your understanding and application in your strengths grow.
To explain this scenario, let’s say that there is a coach who within their top 5, possesses the strength DEVELOPER. This coach (DEVELOPER) has a team that is made up of three different types of athletes.
- Group A: Athletes with natural athletic ability, with no desire to improve
- Group B: Athletes (novice to advanced), who have interest in becoming better
- Group C: Athletes (novice to advanced) that don’t really care to improve
No matter what the skill level of the athlete, a developer feels needed when they have someone to work with that has the desire to grow and improve. In this case they would probably be motivated to work with people in Group A and B because they fall in 1 of 2 categories. Group A are high performers, and Group B are athletes that have an interest to become better.
After some time working with Group A, although enjoyable and easy to work with, the coach could possibly feel frustrated because of the lack of being able to invest in their growth. If these high performers don’t feel the need to make adjustments based on the coach’s recommendations, the coach may start to feel ignored or frustrated to the point where they are unwilling to work with Group A.
Anyone who would fall in Group C would frustrate the coach because they do not fulfil the needs of the coach. A developer has difficulty spending time with low performers and may ignore and shy away from those athletes.
As you get to know yourself and understand how your strengths have an impact, you need to be aware of the triggers that set the weakness to your strengths off. In the case above, a developer is fueled by high performers and helping individuals that want to grow and improve. What they have to be aware of is that anyone that does not fuel this need, they themselves will have a tendency to ignore them. How can the coach continue to be an effective developer even when their needs are not fulfilled? When you learn what your strengths are, what can be done to prevent yourself form succumbing to the weaknesses tied to your strengths?
One thing that the developers may have to do is lean into their other strengths to support the developer in them. They will need to learn how to subdue the strength of their developer so that their other top strengths can help support them in their success as coach, even to the low performers or the individuals that don’t care. Here are examples of how other strengths could support a developer so that they can continue to be successful.
- MAXIMIZER: They will focus on what is strong and make it better. What skills does this athlete excel at?
- FUTURISTIC: They will focus on the future. What potential do you see in this athlete?
- RESTORATIVE: They want to fix things. Is there something you two see that you can focus on and work on together?
- POSITIVITY: They see the glass half full. What can they see as good in this situation, or in this person?
Now what happens if you don’t pay attention to these tendencies? The coach in this scenario may say, “I am a developer and I accept that I don’t want to work with low performers. Why would I want to work with anyone that doesn’t want to get better?”
It would make your job easier to not have to worry about them since they don’t really want to be there anyway. But is that the right approach and mindset? Instead, take a step back and think, “As a leader, what should my concern be? Will only working with my ideal perfect person make me a true leader? What can I do to help my team become successful?”
As you learn more about yourself you will not only discover how to use your strengths to achieve success, but you will find out when strengths are tapped into with different situations as well as the roles that you play. The trick is to find a balance with your top 5 strengths and truly live and maximize the positive potential you possess.
If you are ready to learn more about capitalizing on your strengths and learning about the weaknesses that can come up if you are not in balance, we are ready to help you take that next step.