When Depending Too Much On Our Strengths Is A Bad Thing

When it comes to leadership, there are a lot of folks out there relying  solely on their strengths to lead people. How much of a good thing becomes a bad thing? Furthermore, when were weaknesses such a bad thing?

I remember several years ago, a good friend and former boss of mine said, “Knowing my weaknesses is more important than knowing my strengths.” That single statement made a difference in the way I help leaders fix relationship problems as a result over accentuating their strengths and under developing their weaknesses.

Take for example, one person with a great attention to detail. This type of person, when under pressure, can become a micro manager who wastes time, budget, and puts a strain on team relations. Leaders believe that they should hold firmly to their strengths and over accentuate them during times of stress as these strengths are what make them special.

During times of stress, a leader should monitor their strengths and how over doing them can affect their team and collaboration. This requires communication and self awareness. For example, a leader could say to her direct reports,  “I know that I am very detail-oriented person, sometimes to the point of micro-managing. Please let me know when I am overstepping my boundaries.”

It’s not easy to admit to direct reports that our strengths can sometimes get the best of us, but it’s refreshingly honest and aware.

Which leads me to the next point of under developing weaknesses.  Ignoring and under developing weaknesses can be fatal for a department. I’ve seen many a department manager turn a blind eye when their employees complain about their manager’s weaknesses. When employees see leaders ignore their weaknesses, they become bitter towards their leader’s lack of self awareness and denial of change.

Additionally, in order to move to the next level, we need to acknowledge and strengthen our weaknesses. The major body of my work relies on developing weaknesses. Clients don’t like hearing about their weaknesses, but they acknowledge their need to conquer them in order to move on. Small, systematic action with improved communication can turn weaknesses into strengths.

Overrating strengths and ignoring weaknesses can wreak havoc amongst a team. It can  cause even the most talented leaders to hit bottom.

Have you seen a leader self destruct or hurt team performance? What do you think?

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Leslie, Inc. offers solutions for finding happiness through one-on-one coaching, mindful leadership retreats, and digital products. If you’re ready to GET HAPPY, check out Leslie’s guide packs. For more tips on achieving your state of happiness, sign up for Leslie, Inc’s weekly newsletter.

#career #professionaldevelopment #personaldevelopment #workperformance #management #leadership

Smoking In Front of The Workplace

A French reader asked, “I see a lot of people smoking in front of their offices. Does smoking at work hurt a company and professional image?”

Over 71 percent of American businesses are are regulated by smoking bans of varying degrees. These laws affect restaurants, public places, hospitality, and bars. There are even laws forbidding smoking within a certain distance of public entrances. France passed a law in 2006 forbidding smoking in most public places. All of these legislation try to protect the public from the effects of second hand smoke.

Now, the question for today asks, does smoking in front of one’s work hurt the image of the company? Let’s look at this in two ways. One is a question of making the lifestyle decision to smoke and the other is a question of employees loitering in front of the workplace during their breaks.

I am not a smoker. My husband, Franck, has a greater aversion to cigarettes as his grandfather passed away from lung cancer.  While our lives have been personally touched by the deadly consequences of smoking, I am not here to make the judgement call about a person’s decision to smoke.

Having worked with smokers in America, smokers are generally discreet about their smoking habits and prefer to go to their cars or behind the workplace to smoke. It is my deduction that smoking has become a social taboo in some cities due partially to The Truth initiative that emerged in 1998 after America’s four largest cigarette manufacturers were ordered to sponsor the initiative.

My attention goes to the action of smoking and the location where it occurs. I have noticed in downtown Annecy, employees loitering in front of their workplace to smoke. They can be seen lounging by the front door, huddled in groups, or just leaning against the building as they take their smoke break. Take the cigarette out of their hands and what do you see? You see employees at work standing around, doing nothing. They may be on their break, but that is not what a client or passerby sees. They see an employee not doing their work. They are loitering.

Essentially, smoking has little to do with what an outsider sees. I think the physical act of smoking,  i.e. loitering and doing nothing, in front of the workplace hurts the company image. Even if these employees worked hard for their break, we could never really know for sure. Why would a smart business risk that kind of miscommunication?

My suggestion would to be to provide smoking break areas that do not disturb non-smokers out of the sight of customers. This way, clients can go about their business and employees can take their breaks in peace.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree. I’d love to hear what you think.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Leslie, Inc. offers solutions for finding happiness through one-on-one coaching, mindful leadership retreats, and digital products. If you’re ready to GET HAPPY, check out Leslie’s guide packs. For more tips on achieving your state of happiness, sign up for Leslie, Inc’s weekly newsletter.

#businessculture #imagemanagement #professionaletiquette

Should Professionals Go Back To School To Avoid A Recessional Market?

A Reader Asked:

“I know many people that are “going back to school.” Suzy Orman states that the best financial investment you can make is in your own education. However, I get the feeling that the latest trend is for people who don’t want to face the recessional market. When is a good time to go to school? Any thoughts?”

Pursuing a secondary education should be for the love of learning as we all know that higher educations are becoming a dime a dozen these days. There are professionals out there with twenty years experience with plenty of higher education who cannot get job right now. That just goes to show that more education does not always equal better job or better income prospects. College graduates are not promised guaranteed jobs out of college anymore, either. So we are forced to evaluate our motives for higher education.

Going back to school simply to “avoid” the bad market is a lame excuse to pursue what can end up being an expensive education and an unintended life lesson. People become very bitter about their post secondary education when they don’t end up making the money they were “promised” to earn. As counter intuitive as it sounds, study what you love and use it as much as possible in your personal/professional life without having money as your primary concern. So, first love of the subject matter and second career prospects. That way, if you’re not making bank, you’re not bitter about spending oodles of cash for an education.

If you know full well that going back to school will help you pursue a satisfying career and will help you do what you’ve always desired in life, then go – irregardless of the timing. Going to school for purposes less than genuine tend to cost us more than than just time and money. Think very carefully about re-enrolling and pursue your education with full force and passion. If not, rethink your current career strategy and take a look as what needs to be improved on your career path. Companies today are looking for much more in potential employees: education, experience, and results. Do you have all three?

What do you think? Should professionals go back to school to avoid poor employment prospects?

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Leslie, Inc. offers solutions for finding happiness through one-on-one coaching, mindful leadership retreats, and digital products. If you’re ready to GET HAPPY, check out Leslie’s guide packs. For more tips on achieving your state of happiness, sign up for Leslie, Inc’s weekly newsletter.

#career #careerdevelopment #careerplanning #professionaldevelopment