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Key Takeaways Viewing weaknesses as opportunities for strategic upgrades can transform leadership effectiveness.
Sustainable management of leadership weaknesses requires a methodical and root-cause focused approach, rather than quick fixes.
Leveraging the support of executive coaches and peer networks is critical for senior leaders to navigate career challenges successfully.
Navigating your weaknesses as a leader is tricky. As an executive, you’re likely hard-working and results-driven, so you naturally want to apply this same approach to overcoming your weak spots. While this sounds good in theory, it tends to backfire.
So how do you actually manage your weaknesses as a leader? As an executive coach, I’ve found that leaders tend to make the same handful of mistakes when it comes to navigating their weak spots.
1. They treat weaknesses like flaws
Leaders often feel like a weakness defines them. Weaknesses aren’t personal failures. This sounds simple in concept, but is much more challenging to embody.
Because many of the leaders I work with are in tech, I encourage them to think of a weakness as being like outdated hardware. There’s nothing inherently wrong with you; you just need an upgrade to run more efficiently. Consider thinking of weaknesses as being like a signal that reveals where you can leverage your strengths more strategically.
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