March 20, 2006
Brand YOU–Making Your Weaknesses Irrelevant
Liz published this at 6:43 pm
Identify Your Weaknesses
Identifying your strengths is only half of the story. Next you need to be real about your weaknesses. Start by knowing everyone has them, and that knowing yours is the first step toward managing them effectively.
Often the easiest way to see your weaknesses is by looking at the flipside of your strengths. For example, if a strength is that you are detailed-oriented and accurate at checking specs, it’s likely that you’re not strong at seeing the big picture. Developing process models probably isn’t what you do best. In another scenario, if you’re innovative, you might take too many risks. If you value hard-won knowledge of the fundamentals, you might take far too few.
Get Curious to Shore Up Weaknesses
Now that you’ve found your weaknesses. Look at the skills that stand behind them. If you have trouble with the big picture, get curious about it. Start asking folks who like the big picture why they go there. See what values there are in having a strength in that area. Here’s an example of how just that helped me.
One of my weaknesses comes from my strength in perception. Information about people and how they think comes easily to me through normal interaction and conversation. It’s almost as if I can pick up signals from the air about who they are and what they think. Unfortunately the skill is not reciprocal, it puts the other person at a disadvantage, often making that person uncomfortable–uncomfortable being with me.
My corresponding weakness is I’m the poster child for small talk. I’ve never developed the skill or the habit. Until I realized I had the weakness, I saw absolutely no purpose for it. Then I got curious. I watched and talked to people who do small talk well. I saw how it helps establish personal relationships and boundaries between people–sort of mini agreements made by conversation. I still don’t start conversations with “How’s the weather?” or “How about them bears?” But I’ve learned not to jump right in with “on page 32 you can see where I . . . ”
No matter how good I get at it, small talk will always be an acquired still not a talent, but a skill that I work on when I can. These days it’s far less of a weakness and now it’s at least an option when I need it. Folks aren’t so uncomfortable when I start talking . . . I say a few things before I get to page 32.
Then Make Your Weaknesses Irrelevant
In like manner, no one–except my oldest brother, who’ll tell you he’s perfect already–will ever be free of weaknesses. No one can make them disappear, but anyone can control and shore them up. You can minimize their impact and make them irrelevant. They don’t need to be a burden in the marketplace, in your business or in your job. Here are some ways you might do that.
- Always volunteer for jobs that play to your strengths. Taking advantages of such opportunities gives you a chance to showcase your strengths in new ways–to be known for what you do well. Volunteering to your strengths is a fabulous way of promoting your personal brand.
- Go into a learning mode about your weaknesses. Be honest about where you do better with support. People see that as integrity. In other words, avoid the temptation to oversell your skills. People find out soon enough what you can’t do. Overselling your skills only makes your weaknesses seem larger. That’s the quickest way to kill your personal brand.
- Value people who have strengths that correspond to your weaknesses. Look first at the ones who make you crazy. Usually the reason folks drive us crazy is because they care deeply about what we hate. That fact makes them exceptional at tasks that we don’t do well. As a big-picture person, I’m wise to value detailed-oriented people, and always seek them out as partners. That makes us both stronger. It puts my big picture strength and their detail competency together and makes our weaknesses irrelevant to the task we do together.
- Add extra check steps for any task that involves your weaknesses. Know that those tasks will require more time for you than they do for folks who have those skills as a strength.
- Within any situation, you can probably think of several ways to keep your weaknesses in control, if you stop to assess what strengths and weaknesses you’ll be working with before you start the task.
Now you’ve established the core of your personal brand. You know your strengths and weaknesses. When you’re asked about them in a first meeting–with a client or at an interview–you can articulate how you play to your strengths and manage your weaknesses.
You can articulate the unique value of your strengths and how they meet real needs with actions and benefits. You have strategies for minimizing the impact of your weaknesses. You can talk about your competencies with competence, clarity, and confidence. That’s a dynamic personal brand.
You’re well ahead of the game already. All it took was a look in the mirror and using what you found there.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Related article:
Building a Personal Brand–YOU
Leaders and Higher Ground
The Only One
Business, Blogs, and Niche-Brand Marketing
Filed under Branding, Business Life, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Motivation-Inspiration, Strategy/Analysis, Successful Blog | 19 Comments »
C'mon. Let's talk!
19 Comments to “Brand YOU–Making Your Weaknesses Irrelevant”
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Martin said
How’s the weather … good, okay, enough of the small talk…
This is like a personal SWOT analysis – it’s good for the soul as well as for your business.
The person who says they have no weaknesses is living in denial and probably holding back on being SOBs because of that.
I say: get to know your weaknesses, understand them, accept them and then toss them out on the scrap heap … and go full on with your strengths.
But then again, I wouldn’t know – cause I have no weaknesses
ME Strauss said
Hi Martin,
I wondered as I wrote that whether anyone would tease me about my small talk deficiencies.
You have no weaknesses because you tossed them out on the scrap heap. Want me to go get them for you? I could find them if you really need them . . .
Liz
Martin said
errr … nah, that’s okay Liz, I think I’m juggling just about enough weaknesses as I can right now – and when I’m not in denial, I’m doing a damn good job of it I think
ME Strauss said
Uh Ok then, I was just trying to help. After all, I am the nice one.
I was thinking about putting together a worksheet for strengths and weaknesses. I’ve a picture of it in my head from the post I did earlier today.
Liz
Martin said
you know where to send it to if you need some help – more than happy to help the Queen SOB in her quest of being more successful (and I’ll just tag along and cling to your coattails, of course)
ME Strauss said
Well, King Martin, would that be a Technorati tag?
Martin said
well, Technorati tags will do I guess, although … I’d prefer a more reliable tag – it’s still screwy even after your very public call out to them a short while back.
No, I think I’ll just tag along with you by association – that way we can continue with the banter (aka small talk) – it’s makes blogging fun that way.
ME Strauss said
Banter? Small talk is banter? Nobody told me that! How come nobody told me that? I know how to banter. I can even play verbal volleyball.
I’m so confused now. I thought small talk was only about the weather and other people’s kids and stuff.
Liz
Martin said
Yup, without knowing it, Liz, you’ve been bantering with me (us) here all along.
Talking about the weather and stuff is so cliche – i see a banter as having a very informal chat that no one knows where it’s going and really leads nowhere most of the time but still ends up being fun. (better than snark – btw, guess who’s rode back into town).
Add the banter together with community and you have one potent mix.
And now I’m off to take a look at what’s happening around the blogosphere – I hear some sort of sh*t storm has errupted re: Engadget and image tampering.
ME Strauss said
As you ride off into the sunset, I’ll stay here and protect the homestead, wondering as I watch . . . “Who was that masked man?”
Martin said
“Who was that masked man” she said, stealing herself for the rigors of protecting the homestead.
The coming months would be hard. The harshness of winter. The glaring of summer. In the wild west outlaws come and go and this masked man, like millions before him, was as mysterious as you’ll ever meet.
And then it hit her. Yes, he will be back. In this dusty old town even mysterious outlaws need a place to call home and just then she knew. This was his home and he will be back.
The End.
BTW, did I tell you Liz, I’m a wannabe novelist? Sorry for the creative add ons but when you’re in that creative zone you just got to let me play with all the crayons.
ME Strauss said
And she we left holding a single silver bullet . . . and a bunch of crayons.
Martin said
A true outlaw needs his crayons.
ME Strauss said
And so she was left holding a silver bullet and an empty crayon box. . . yearning for him to return.
Martin said
And you know I’ll be back although I can’t guarantee you the crayons will return. So take that silver bullet to the market and barter it for something good – maybe a lifetime’s supply of crayons. Yeah that sounds good.
See Liz … this is banter and see how we’ve gone so off the topic of this post that folks will think we’ve gone nuts and shy away from commenting.
What was this post about again. Oh yeah – Brand You > Weaknesses.
One of my SWOTs (don’t know which one yet) is that I can go on and on with my commenting.
C’mon folks, comment here or else Liz and I will eventually brainstorm an idea for a novel and more than likely start writing it in the comments sections…
ME Strauss said
No chance for a novel, possibly a Saturday morning cartoon show. I’m laughing too hard for a plot that would last longer than two sentences.
Go ahead now off to the sunset with you. Or I’ll eat this darn silver bullet.
Martin said
Okay, a plot that lasts a few sentences. Should be no problem. How about a hollywood screenplay – that should fit our 2 sentence plot criteria.
And away I go (see you tomorrow)…
Successful Blog - Have Failure of the Imagination said
[...] Related articles Start in the Middle 1: Write a Three-Course Meal Don’t Hunt IDEAS  Be an Idea Magnet Brand YOU–Making Your Weaknesses Irrelevant Creative Wonder 101 as Promotion and Problem Solving Technorati Tags: blog promotion branding brand identity BRAND YOU creative failure failure imagination interview interviewing personal brand problem solving [...]
yinka olaito said
you are quite right. We must work on the brand’s weakness, but put more energy in promoting the brand’s strength.