Strengths or Weaknesses? Where Leaders Should Focus

I have often found that the relative peace

and quiet of holiday has leant itself to reflection, and planning for the coming busier period. 

One of the subjects I found myself turning to most often on Summer holidays was upcoming performance reviews – my own and my team’s.

In conversations around performance, one of the most common turning points comes when we shift from what’s wrong to what’s strong.

Many leaders in professional services are conditioned to focus on fixing weaknesses (and this is especially so in law). That’s understandable. Rigour, risk avoidance and perfectionism are deeply embedded in many professions.

But when it comes to leadership development, that mindset can limit growth.

🔹 Working on weaknesses can prevent failure and so has its place.

🔹 Building on strengths is what really drives excellence in individuals and consequently in their organisations. Its good for motivation too.

Your strengths - what you do with ease, energy and impact - are often the source of your greatest value. But they can be so familiar that you overlook them or take them for granted.

When thinking about their own development, or discussing performance with team members, Leaders can promote excellence by helping people to:

🔸 Identify and name their core strengths

🔸 Understand how those strengths land with others

🔸 Find ways to stretch and apply them in new contexts

🔸 Use their strengths deliberately - especially under pressure

This is also a key strategy for a coaching environment and is often useful for coaches to help senior Leaders to perform to their full potential.

That’s not to say weaknesses don’t matter. But focusing solely on what’s lacking can become a never-ending fix list.  It’s demoralising and often does not work anyway. 

You don’t grow by becoming more average - you grow by building on what sets you apart.

So if holidays give you some opportunity for rumination on how to get the best from your team, spend some time thinking about how to encourage each of them in their strengths.