The Weakness of Extreme Strength
by Kate Nasser | 4 Comments »
Can you think of someone who would not want to be called the best? Most everyone would beam at this honor. Being the best means you have an extreme strength. It emerges from a natural talent or intense study, practice and development.
Yet there is a weakness to every extreme strength. That weakness is the undeveloped counter-strength you might need someday.
Leaders & Teams: The Weakness of Extreme Strength
For self-development, traditional wisdom says:
#1 Be aware of your weakness
#2 Know how to change
#3 Have the desire to change
Weakness of Extreme Strength
Why does the weakness often persist?
-
The organization taps you for your strength. More of your time is spent using a strength than developing a counter-strength.
-
Using the strength feels better than the struggle of developing a weakness. We yield to the positive feelings.
-
Being called the best can create overconfidence and block growth. Consider, when are you too confident to learn?
-
Believing that the counter-strength is inconsistent with the extreme strength. Picture a strong analytic who relies heavily on data and looks down on non-analytic thinking. They may be initially less likely to develop and use big picture thinking necessary in a leadership.
-
Fearing that it will weaken the extreme strength. For example, strong driver personalities who push for the end results are sometimes afraid that participatory leadership will undermine success.
The Grip of Extreme Strength
Overcoming the grip of extreme strength:
- If the organization is the obstacle, ask for a short project where you can learn a counter-strength.
- If the positive feelings are holding you back, picture the negative feelings of being unprepared for the next skill set needed.
- If overconfidence is trapping you, find a trusted friend or mentor to snap you out of it with honest feedback.
- If are stuck in one belief, search for examples to test the accuracy of it. Is it a feeling or a fact? If it is a feeling, you can stretch past it and develop a counter-strength.
- If fear of failure is stopping you, find people who have your strength and the counter-strength you need. Their balanced success can move you past your fear.
How have you developed counter-strengths to balance your greatest strengths? What success have you had that will help others?
From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™
©2011-2016 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.
Engage in people skills learning!
Let’s turn interaction obstacles into business success in leadership, teamwork, and customer service experience.
Kate, really good information. I remember my Executive Coach telling me: “any strength taken to an extreme becomes a liability”. I like your simple but compelling way to present dealing with Extreme Strengths.
Thank you Craig. The good news is the liability doesn’t live on once a person takes action to balance it out.
So pleased you visited Smart SenseAbilities blog and hope you will comment on any post that strikes your interest.
Best,
Kate
[…] The Weakness of Extreme Strength – Kate Nasser […]
[…] For self-development, traditional wisdom says:#1 Be aware of your weakness#2 Know how to change#3 Have the desire to changeWeakness of Extreme StrengthWhy does the weakness often persist?The organization taps you for your strength. More of your time is spent using a strength than developing a counter-strength.Using the strength feels better than the struggle of developing a weakness. We yield to the positive feelings.Being called the best can create overconfidence and block growth. Consider, when are you too confident to learn?Believing that the counter-strength is inconsistent with the extreme strength. Picture a strong analytic who relies heavily on data and looks down on non-analytic thinking. They may be initially less likely to develop and use big picture thinking necessary in a leadership.Fearing that it will weaken the extreme strength. For example, strong driver personalities who push for the end results are sometimes afraid that participatory leadership will undermine success.The Grip of Extreme StrengthOvercoming the grip of extreme strength:If the organization is the obstacle, ask for a short project where you can learn a counter-strength.If the positive feelings are holding you back, picture the negative feelings of being unprepared for the next skill set needed. […]