Message of the Day - Where Strengths Become Weaknesses and Weaknesses Become Strengths

Good Morning,

 

If the title of this piece confuses you, don’t worry, we will sort it out in a bit.

 

All People have strengths and all have weaknesses too. These strengths are not so glamorous as Superhero powers and abilities, but we all have something that we are good at. These skills, abilities and strengths are what help us get through the day.

 

These strengths though, can also house weaknesses within them. That is, the strength itself can be a weakness.

 

Let’s take the strength of being compassionate. You are able to see the human side of things no matter how harsh or rough a situation gets. People love working with you because they know you care. Taking that strength too far can become a weakness. You may not be able to make the tough decisions because you tend to be too emotional and avoid hurting the feelings of others.

 

Now let’s go to the other extreme. You are tough and you can take on any situation and your emotions are rock solid. No matter how bad a situation gets, you remain the rock, the pillar of strength for the team. People respect you because when the smoke clears, they know you will be standing. Taking this strength too far can also be a weakness also. Being too strong can cause you to be unemotional and trample on people’s feelings as you do your thing.

 

Going up the middle, you could be very flexible and adaptable. Nothing can throw you off for long. No matter what happens you can change gears at any time and move to a different beat and follow a different pattern. Folks look to you because you are always in the know because you are a first adopter and often chosen for pilot projects. Taking this too far, someone who is overly flexible may be too wishy-washy and indecisive, changing decisions with the directions of the wind.

 

We must keep an eye on our strengths and appreciate and understand them, but also we need to know when they start going too far and start becoming weaknesses and tying us down.

 

You see, strengths can become weaknesses, and if you were to start the other way, you could turn a weakness into a strength. A person who is cold-hearted and unchanging could take this weakness and use it to lead a team through a tempest of a time, holding fast to the plan and goals of the team, through thick and thin. In one situation we had a major snafu we needed to fix, which required calling nearly 100 banks to ask for them to fix a problem we caused. We chose a person some felt too sweet to handle the rigors of the desk, and she wowed us by using this sweetness to get the banks to work with us. It was a great strength she had.

 

I guess whether something is a strength or a weakness, lies in the perspective you see it in, and how you apply it.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

PS: If you know others who may enjoy this message of the day, please pass this message on or invite them to receive them themselves by sending a request to me. If you wish to stop receiving these, please also let me know. Thank you!!!