The axiom “play to your strengths” can be a misnomer when it comes to leadership in the business world. While this advice is widely accepted as truth by entrepreneurs and senior leaders, in some situations, focusing on what you are able to do well isn’t the best strategy.
Beyond recognizing and cultivating their own talents, skills and areas of expertise, great leaders understand when and how to apply them.
Below, 13 members of Forbes Coaches Council explore things leaders need to prioritize over playing to their own strengths.
1. Focus On Intended Outcomes
Rather than their strengths, effective leaders focus on the organization’s intended outcomes. They seek the required strengths and empower their teams to develop and acquire them. Such leaders put their egos aside and allow their organization’s objectives to dictate what’s needed, regardless of their personal strengths. – Matt Muszala,Accomplishment Coaching
2. Address Your Challenges
While playing to your strengths can be beneficial, being aware of and strategically addressing your challenges will allow you and your company to grow. A good leader inspires people to reach greater heights, and that climb includes pitfalls and obstacles. When leaders hide (or hide from) every challenge and vulnerability, this fosters employee disbelief, doubt and disengagement. Resilience is a powerful inspiration. – Keda Edwards Pierre, True II Soul
3. Be Aware Of Your Weaknesses
As a leader, it seems right to follow this advice: “Work from your strengths and pay attention to what you’re good at so that you lead with ease.” But it’s also very valuable to raise your awareness around those things you don’t do as well. Always remember that your strengths tell you part of the story, but creating awareness around your weaknesses will help you become a more conscious leader. – Mari Carmen Pizarro, Whole Leadership Systems
4. Calibrate To Environmental Contexts And Nuances
An overused strength might end up being your weakness. In leadership, it’s important to recognize the context and nuances in different environments. While you will still play to the same strengths, how you calibrate and use them will be different. It’s kind of similar to using the same knife for everything, and you know that’s not right from experience. Use the best instrument for the task it’s most suited for. –Chuen Chuen Yeo, ACESENCE
5. Build Overall Team Strengths
When leading, we build teams that cover the “whole board.” While our strengths likely helped us get into leadership roles, they often are not the same strengths that will enhance our effectiveness as leaders. It is our responsibility, as leaders, to identify, enhance and build strengths into the team and culture so that we can continue to evolve and provide value in new ways. – Cyndee Blockinger Lake, Blank Page
6. Share Your Expertise With Employees
Leaders are often brought into a position because of their strengths (e.g., great project management skills, sales acumen, etc.). But as a leader, your job is to lead people, not do the job. If you focus on what you are good at, you’ll end up micromanaging the work. Instead, help your employees develop their skills and capabilities by sharing your expertise, not by doing the work. – John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises
7. Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone
Playing to your strengths may be a barrier to becoming an agile, flexible leader who can be intentional about tailoring different leadership styles to different situations. Supplement your strengths with other styles that push you out of your comfort zone. Often, this discomfort is the best way to learn about yourself and grow. Overuse of strengths can also be disruptive and derailing. – Charles Dormer, APEX STP, LLC
8. Develop Strong Self-Awareness
Managers are often promoted based on merit and skill, not because they’re great leaders. So a top salesperson who may be amazing at closing deals could also be a poor motivator and manager. Strong self-awareness is critical in leadership, as is understanding where you’re over-pivoting on your strengths. It’s a slippery slope from strength to weakness. – Kate Peters, Bright Voyage Leadership
9. Add Value Where It’s Most Needed
One thing I say to my leadership clients is, “What got you to where you are today isn’t what’s going to get you to the next level.” For example, if a leader’s strength was always first-class operational capabilities, playing to this can stunt their leadership growth. That’s because they now add more value through their strategic vision while their team delivers operational excellence. – Gabriella Goddard, Brainsparker Leadership Academy
10. Work On Your ‘Weaknesses’
When we overuse or rely too much on our strengths, they actually become our weaknesses. We tend to lean on our strengths when under stress. This can cause us to keep attempting to force a square peg into a round hole, alienating everyone else in the process. It is vital for leaders to work on their “weaknesses” so that they’ll be ready with that round peg when necessary. – Dan Messinger, Cream of the Crop Leaders
11. Strategically Adjust Your Behavior
Knowing your strengths means being aware of your behavioral preferences (i.e., the authentic you) and how to exploit them. That’s key, but it’s more important to be able to read the situation and adjust your behavior to the unique circumstances. If you’re a hard-driving, analytical type, for example, and a reserved and caring persona is needed, playing to your strengths could blow up the situation and show the limits of your leadership. – Steven Pfrenzinger, Executive Coaching for the Highly Ambitious
12. Use The Right Degree Of Strength At The Right Time
A useful approach is to consider whether or not you’re applying your strengths to the right degree and at the right time. Use the Goldilocks question: Do I use each strength too little, the right amount or too much? If you’re a mesmerizing presenter, find out if your team meetings are the right time to play to that strength. If standing your ground comes easily, figure out when compromise is better. If you excel at detail, know when to discuss strategy. – Loren Margolis,Training & Leadership Success LLC
13. Augment Your Strengths With Your Team
A better way to think about it may be “understanding your strengths” so that you can augment and enhance them with your team. This puts a focus on others and their strengths. Great leaders want to mesh strengths into a wonderful mosaic where everyone wins. Be interested in the artistry of this versus having the mindset that everyone needs to play to you and your strengths. – John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.
You can access the original article and links to many more by going to Forbes.com or by clicking here: 13 Better Ways To Lead Than Always ‘Playing To Your Strengths’
Have any tips you’d like to share? Let me know! I’d love to learn from you.
With love,
Mari Carmen
