John Eades* says it’s a rare leader who has no weaknesses in their make-up but he has some advice for the rest of us who need to improve in crucial areas.
Nobody is perfect.
We all have things we need to work on to improve our skills, and this is especially true of leaders.
Unfortunately, many fail when promoted to a leadership position.
There are any number of reasons that can contribute to each individual failure.
However, many of the problems arise because of people who are unwilling to address or downright ignore their weaknesses.
Perhaps you don’t know how to speak to your employees or misunderstand the importance of workplace discipline.
Whatever the case, focusing on your weaknesses so you can turn them into strengths may be one of the most important things you ever do as a leader.
Learn to identify your own weaknesses.
Focusing on one’s weaknesses may not be fun, but it is essential if you wish to be an effective leader.
However, many people in a position of leadership struggle to identify what their weaknesses are, either because of pride or misconceptions about their performance.
Improving your self-awareness about your weaknesses is the key.
Motivational speaker and author, Alan Stein Jr. told me on the Follow My Lead Podcast: “You increase your self-awareness by getting feedback from people you trust.”
Open yourself up to listening to people close to you or to the people that report to you (they know how you lead best).
This could come in the form of a formal 360-degree leadership assessment or a simple one-on-one conversation.
The key is that you are asking others to improve your self-awareness about where there are opportunities for growth.
Stop assuming you can’t get better at them.
Too often, leaders believe their strengths and weaknesses from a leadership perspective are personality traits that are set in stone.
A great example of this came from television host Mel Robbins.
“I used to think confidence was a personality trait. The truth is confidence isn’t a personality trait at all.”
Ms Robbins is right about confidence and the same could be said for many of the other important skills within leadership such as empathy and positivity.
You can grow and get better.
If your mindset doesn’t reflect this belief, the chances of you ever reaching your full leadership potential are slim to none.
The good news is once you get your mindset to one of growth, you will look at every event as an opportunity to learn and get better.
Focus on continual improvement.
While there are some areas where it is better to delegate responsibility to others, personal improvement should always be a goal for any leader.
You may not be able to become a professional golfer, but you can improve the way you lead your team.
Since leadership is a journey and not a destination, you always have to be thinking long-term about your development.
Getting help from an expert will help you identify the fastest way to improve your performance.
None of this will necessarily make you an expert yourself.
These areas will still be weaker than your natural strengths.
However, as you focus on trying to learn and improve these skills, you can ensure that they will no longer drag down your performance or the performance of your team.
When you have a leadership role, it can be all too easy to get caught up in the ways your team members need to improve.
However, you can’t ignore your own imperfections.
By exercising some humility to identify ways you need to change, you will become a more dynamic leader.
*John Eades is the Chief Executive of LearnLoft and author of F.M.L. Standing Out and Being a Leader. He is also the host of the Follow My Lead Podcast. He can be followed on instagram @johngeades.
This article first appeared on John’s LearnLoft blog.
