Today I want to talk to you about something deeply personal: what I am not good at.
It’s easy to know what you are good at. You’ve probably gotten compliments about it or learned from taking skills inventories. I know I offer many positives: I am a creative person. I am really optimistic. I am enthusiastic. I have tons of good ideas.
But the thing I am not good at is going into the details and staying there. I’ve known this for a while, since my first skills inventory many years ago. So I knew that details would be a challenge for me when they came up.
Does that mean I do not pay attention to the quality of what I do or to the excellence of what I deliver? Not at all. Everyone has a blind spot or a weakness. The more you are aware of yours, the better you can cope. And the less they will actually operate like weaknesses.
Build A Strategy for Each Weakness
For me, when I get to a place where I need to delve into details, it takes me a great deal of energy. Therefore, I am reluctant to do this. I definitely enjoy it less than when I am in the creative realms and can jump all over. Yes, I can do it but need to focus much more. So how do I cope?
When you have assessed that there is something that you are not good at, find a system. Find the processes you need to close that gap for you. No, I don’t have to actually learn to be detail-oriented. I need to build systems that compensate for not being detail-oriented. When I am working with my clients, for instance, I have processes that practically do that “for” me.
Today I have systems set up to tell me where I have to be and when, and I have all the forms necessary in my office, ready to go. I can easily pull open drawers and find the things I need when I need them. All because I don’t want to get into the details.
Yes, the first time I implemented these processes, it took extra energy and time. But today the processes that I put in place actually help me to spend more time working from my strengths. These strategies save me time (and therefore money) because I used to lose a lot of time to my weaknesses.
Find a Complementary Partner, Get Help, or Delegate It Out
Working with partners is yet another powerful solution. Many of the people I connect well with are very detail-oriented. I’m the one with the creative mind, the big-picture vision, and the drive to move beyond what we are seeing now. These partnerships are wonderful and work out really well because we each bring different skill sets to the table. They focus on details, I focus on vision. The integration is great.
There is no reason today to hide that you have weaknesses or even what those might be. Today I simply am up front about my blind spots, telling people that if you draw me into details, you might lose me. Make it creative, make it interesting, or take it slowly.
This isn’t always possible, however, and I understand. If I do have to get into nitty-gritty details, then I can get help. I can get an attorney to read contracts for me. I have an editor to proof my English writing. I have an assistant make my appointments.
Straight-up delegation is a great option for managing what you are not good at. Work with someone on the issues you struggle with. Or even completely delegate them out to someone with a strength in the area of your weakness.
Thanks for listening today. I encourage you to share what you are not good at with my audience. Go ahead and post it right there in the comments.
The intention is, by sharing your struggles with others, you can take a realistic look at what you need in order to cope with this shortcoming. Do you need to partner with someone? Hire help? Or delegate it out?
I hope you do get the support you need to fill this gap and make this segment of your life easier. Don’t let your weaknesses drain your time and energy. Your strengths are what you share best with the world.