Strengths and weaknesses

 A couple of phone calls and an online meeting yesterday and today made me realise something vital when it comes to our careers.

It is essential to know what you are good at. Objectively, not what you think you are good at.

Having a deep and accurate insight into your own strengths really helps, as well as knowing how those strengths compare to what’s out there on the job market. The corollary is also true – you need to know what you are not good at.

Once you’ve sorted that out – then what?

And this is where I have found (all too late in my career, alas!) what to do. Don’t bother trying to balance out your strengths and weaknesses by working on the latter to pull them up to an average – work on improving those areas at what you excel.

In the autumn of 2024, I initiated an event on the future of HR. I was moderating a panel about the tools used to assess candidates and employees. The research I did showed that the more common test is Myers-Briggs Type Index (MBTI), which I took several years ago. Having learnt that I’m an INTJ (or whatever – I forget), what do I actually do with that knowledge? The scientific community is sceptical about MBTI, Sabine Hossenfelder famously calling it as accurate as astrology.

So before our big HR event, I tried another psychometric test out there, Gallup’s CliftonStrengths, which essentially works by ranking in order one’s innate talents. I found this far more useful, but the ‘then what?’ was followed up by some one-to-one coaching, which I completed early this year.

This is now practical knowledge. It allows me to select projects that I’ll be good at doing, and happy to do. I can reject ones I know I’ll struggle at. 

The CliftonStrengths test itself highlighted to me a couple of talents that I’d never had suspected I was good at. One was connecting people. Because I’m an introvert, I’d hadn’t previously considered myself good at this: “Ah – you really should meet x, they really know this subject” and then an email to introduce and connect them. And I’m better at teamwork than I’d hitherto considered. I can see with whom in the team I work best with, because our strengths complement each other.

Things I knew about myself include being rubbish at execution – organising things, getting people to do things, proactively taking the first step to reach out to people (I am famously reactive, not proactive). And here’s the big lesson: “Don’t beat yourself up over things you’re not good at.” Work on developing your strengths, especially the hidden ones instead. 

First you need to take the test. You have to rattle through it at high speed, not pausing to think too deeply about the question, just intuitively pick which one of two opposing characteristics is more applicable to you. Once done, your strengths are ranked in order. The results can astonish. I found two talents in my top five that I’d not expected, but thinking about them – hey! That really does make sense.

But simply taking the test is not enough. You really need several sessions with a Gallup-accredited coach (I had four sessions) who can talk you through the results so that you reach the right conclusions and optimise your strengths. 

Several months on, the lessons embedded, I feel far more certain as to my strengths, and can deploy them confidently in a business setting. But this is not only about business! The test and the coaching sessions really have helped me frame myself in a more general sense. 

I wish I’d done this earlier in my career!

This time five years ago:
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This time six years ago:
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This time seven years ago:
A short essay on economic patriotism

This time eight years ago:
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This time ten years ago:
In search of Wałbrzych's Gold Train

This time 12 years ago:
Warsaw has a new landmark

This time 16 years ago:
Across the Pennines by rail

This time 17 years ago:
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This time 18 years ago:
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