As the nights draw in, I am always spurred into action to sort through articles and information that I have been collating in the preceding months. Some I throw away after reading the beginning and ending paragraphs, wondering why I ever kept them in the first place. Others I keep year after year.
Reading these articles over the last few days, I am struck once again by a paradox of leadership and management. Being supportive. That term could included words like understanding, being flexible, or helpful. Leadership is as much about supporting as it is about directing the team to accomplish its goals. But if a leader is too supportive, and all actions that word can encompass, helping becomes micro-management, which is counter-productive for the team and bad for the health of the leader.
Managing strengths and weaknesses is a balancing act.
One short article by Hogan Development pairs up words meaning positive behaviors with their negative counterpart. The result is a quick, easy and informal way for people to get an understanding of how characteristics can take an unhealthy turn under pressure. Here are some examples:
- Enthusiastic > Volatile and over-enthusiasm leading to disappointment
- Shrewd > Cynical, lacking in trust, doubting others
- Independent > Detached, uninterested in others
- Focused > Passive Aggressive, refusing to be hurried, ignoring requests and getting irritable
- Diligent > Perfectionists, and over-critical of others.
We all have ‘moments’ in our working lives, so it is helpful to others that we know what these strengths and weaknesses are and their pressure points. Probably the best action you could take this week to help your team continue to achieve results in these tough times, is to make sure you take time to ask 3 people, who’s judgement you trust, the questions:
‘ What do you think my strengths are?’ and, How can they show themselves as weaknesses, negative behaviors, when I am under pressure?’
Have fun, be brave…… and let me know the answer – I would love to hear how you manage the balance between your strengths and weaknesses.
