Before I dive into the topic for today there’s something I want to underscore: we are all leaders and the first person we lead is ourselves. That’s why leadership development looks a lot like personal development – because it is. As you know yourself better and have better facility over leading and inspiring yourself, you will be better able to bring that to other people.
And before you know it you are having better conversations, attracting the type of people you want to be attracting into your business and your life and then getting the results that take you right to your goal, to your dream or vision…however you articulate it.
Everything you do to raise your own awareness will have a ripple effect on your life.
If at any time you feel like you need to really take this on and work with a coach directly don’t hesitate to reach out to me. It’s what I’m here for.
Okay, so we already got through our stress reactions and who we are not and we dove into finding out who we truly are. We’ve done the work to name our top 5 values and what our Superpowers are.
We’ve been talking a lot about strengths so let’s quickly talk about weaknesses. While our strengths come pretty naturally to us and don’t require tremendous effort, our weak areas take much more focus and attention from us and the finished product…let’s just say it’s good because it’s done.
Your weaknesses are the abilities that don't come naturally to you. When you force yourself to engage in tasks that call out your weaknesses it will drain your energy. And that’s why I refer to your weaknesses as your Kryptonite.
Is it worth expending a lot of energy improving your weaknesses? That is a topic long debated.
My opinion is that if it will benefit you to improve an area you are weak in then do it. If you're doing it as a hobby, great.
If you're expending a good chunk of your resources (time, money, energy) on trying to go from a 3 out of 10 to a 5 out of 10 I say outsource whatever that ability is for you and save your energy on activities that come naturally and have a greater impact for you and your business.
For instance, my weakness is technical details. I outsource any technical updates of my website and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Could I spend an entire weekend or more learning how to do this myself? Sure. But I would hate it and I would be wiped out for the rest of the week.
I’ve also hired someone to edit my book. I’ve data-dumped everything I know into a document, adding in my personal experience with the concepts and arranging it all in a way that makes sense.
But going back and dealing with the details and minutia are not my strengths. It would be draining for me. I would quickly get distracted and soon I would find other things that need my attention, even though they are not more important!
Truth gets blurry when we are overcome by our kryptonite. Deadlines get missed and before we know it time has passed and we still haven’t accomplished out goal.
Figure out what your kryptonite is so you can minimize your exposure. Find those people who find strength around your kryptonite and let them work with it and vice versa. Working together is how we hit our goals and become more accomplished.
Head over to the post that accompanies this episode because I have a worksheet that will help you to reveal your Superpowers and your Kryptonite. You can find it at womentakingthelead.com/weaknesses/
You can always find more resources and other episodes to support you on your leadership journey at womentakingthelead.com.
I hope this was helpful to you and Here’s to Your Success!