Greatest Strength as Greatest Weakness

Working with career professionals who are engaged in career searches, I often hear that the most dreaded job interview question is: "What is your greatest strength?" followed by the inevitable "What is your greatest weakness?"

Through the coaching process, my clients become quite clear on their strengths, and can confidently answer the "greatest strength" question.  It's interesting how many realize that their greatest strength is, also, their greatest weakness.

For instance, someone who is a detail-oriented perfectionist, has strengths in her attention to detail, thoroughness, and organizational abilities. On the flipside, her attention to detail can become a weakness when she spends too much time on the details, and doesn't produce results.

Someone who, like me, is results-oriented, has strengths in her ability to produce, fast. Remember the adage, when you want something done, give it to a busy person? The downside comes in when she realizes she consistently takes on too much, for her own good. Or, when she powers through projects without attending to details or the big picture.

Someone who, like me, is able to see both sides of a situation, has strengths in her ability to provide objective feedback and a different perspective. The flipside is that she can often be wishy-washy and indecisive.

Awareness is the precursor to choice. Being aware of our strengths can lead to clarity about our weaknesses, and with this awareness, we can choose to balance our approach. 

Coaching Challenge:

Consider asking the greatest strength and greatest weakness questions of your staff, in your next one-on-one meeting, or in a performance appraisal. Greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses can coincide. Instead of focusing on the weakness, see how you can turn it around to see the strength, and harness it for greater results.

3 Success Tips to Stay On Track

I read an article about attaining career New Year Resolutions, related to the recent theme in the Lounge -- taking consistent action towards your outcomes gets results. The advice is to:

“make goals you wish to achieve by the end of the year and strategize the steps you'll need to take in order to get there. Instead of squeezing yourself to 'resolve' things quickly, spread out the commitments and proceed at a manageable pace, with benchmarks to understand and celebrate your progress. Steady progress is made and the stated goal has an excellent chance to be achieved."

I particularly like the following 3 success tips to stay on track in the New Year:

1. Eat the frog! "Mark Twain said if you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day. So, start your day by tackling an important task, especially if it is a task you aren't crazy about."

2. Concrastinate. "If procrastinating means putting things off, concrastinate should be doing things immediately. Work in 15 minute increments. If there is a task you don't like, set a timer and do it for 15 minutes. At the end of 15 minutes, you will be amazed at how much you've accomplished. At that point, either stop or if you have built up some momentum, keep going."

5. Plan it. "A few minutes of planning can save you hours of time. Either first thing in the morning or at the end of the day, take a few minutes to plan. It doesn't have to be a long formal process, just jot down the things you want to do that day (or the next if you do this at the end of the day)."

How have you experienced these success tips in action? Post your comments and share your success.

Measuring Relevant Results to Achieve Outcomes

Reviewing my results from 2009 resulted in an awakening to the fact that what I was measuring was not relevant to my desired outcomes. In one instance, I was measuring the action steps I committed to take to further my progress towards an outcome. However, I was not relating the progress to the overall desired outcome to see if it was actually working.
“Unless you measure your results you don’t know if or how it’s working.”

– from “Coach breaks through barriers”, by Rich Spence, Financial Post

It’s what you do with the measures that is important.

In retrospect, if I had a checkpoint to see how my action was contributing towards the results I wanted to see, I could assess how it was working. If I had refined my action plan, to take additional action steps consistent with my desired outcome, I would have had a better chance of getting the results I intended.

I have now applied this learning and put more thought and effort into defining my 2010 desired outcomes, with relevant measures of success. My intention is to take action steps aligned with my desired outcome, measure my progress towards them; then assess what’s working, and decide how I can align further action steps to be consistent with my desired outcomes, to get results.

Coaching Challenge: 

What results do you want to realize in the year 2010? How will you know you’re making measurable and relevant progress? Personal accountability strengthens when you share your commitment wtih an accountability partner. Share your 2010 commitments by sending me an e-mail to Sylvia at SylviaGoodeve dot com.