Focus on Your Strengths NOT Your weaknesses

Lately, I have found myself having trouble focusing on a single goal long enough to really feel like I could make a difference. Do you experience that sometimes too? Things in life just get going too fast!

However, I was really encouraged when I came across something that Dr. John C. Maxwell wrote in his book titled, "Talent is not Enough." John wrote, "Focusing on weaknesses instead of strengths is like having a handful of coins—a few made of pure gold and the rest of tarnished copper—and setting aside the gold coins to spend all your time cleaning and shining the copper ones in the hopes of making them look more valuable. No matter how long you spend on them, they will never be worth what the gold ones are. Go with your greatest assets; don’t waste your time."

So instead of focusing on my weaknesses (or struggles, as my friend and mentor Lee Ellis likes to say), I am determined to focus more on my strengths going forward. I now realize that no matter how much I shine the copper in me...it will never be as shiny or valuable as the gold in me. How about you? Is it time to quit shining the copper in you too? We all have some copper, but we all have some gold too. Forget the past and let's focus on our gold ... the strengths and talents we have at the present moment.

Remember...Go For The Gold....Keep Leading with Character First....Dane

Aligning People, Passions, and Positions for Maximum Performance

In Lee Ellis’ book called “Leading Talents, Leading Teams," Lee explores Specific Talents as strengths and struggles. It is interesting that Lee uses the word “struggles” for weaknesses. I think that alone speaks volumes about the fact that a weakness is not dynamic and presupposes we are not doing anything or can’t do anything about it. The word struggles has a meaning that reflects a dynamic change and wrestling match if you will, that is going on in a constant way. That is what life is about don’t you think? It is a constant growing experience. We are all in different struggles in this life. Noone is perfect and we are all still growing.

Lee’s Chapter 2 title is called: “STRUGGLES: The Dark Side of Talents.”
Besides our strengths the dark side of talents deals with the struggles we all have with our weaknesses. So, Lee points out that each of our talents is a two-sided coin. Lee even makes it clear that for each strength we have there is likely a corresponding struggle as well. Examples he uses are:

Strengths/Struggles
-Meticulous, thorough/May be too picky
-Prepare carefully/May lack spontaneity
-Persistent/Tend to be inflexible

Lee then goes on to use a real life example and historical character in Winston Churchill. He quotes a biography of Winston Churchill’s when he became the First Lord of the Admiralty. You see Winston Churchill had a great many leadership qualities that prepared him for his inevitable rise to be one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. However, what we don’t hear all the time is that Churchill’s struggles were just his strengths in exaggerated form as Lee points out: Dash became rashness. Assuredness became cocksureness, etc.

So, we learn that we all have strengths and struggles, but to grow as a leader and a good follower, it takes constant study and work to improve on both accounts. How are you doing in growing your leadership skills? More importantly, do you recognize your struggles and work to overcome and/or improve them? Are you focused on growing yourself to be a better person of character?

I hope this blog moment helps you to step back and really evaluate who you are, who is following you, who are your co-workers, where you are going, and who might be following you. Many struggles are associated with character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. So, remember to always work on “Leading with Character First.”