July 2, 2025 - Strengths vs. Weakness: The Real Deal

Strengths vs. Weakness: The Real Deal
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Your Weekly "Segment of One"

Hi Friend


Welcome to your weekly dose of personal and career fuel!


This week, we're going to challenge one of the most popular pieces of career advice out there. It might feel a little counter-intuitive, but it's a crucial concept for long-term success. And with summer weekends here, it's a perfect time for a sharp, impactful idea.

Let's get started.


This week's action: Identify one 'productive weakness', a skill you aren't great at that actively creates problems or blocks your progress. Instead of ignoring it, spend 15 minutes this week learning one small thing to mitigate its negative impact (e.g., find a template, watch a tutorial, ask for an example).

Why this matters:


Here’s a hard truth of career development: Your strengths get you in the game, but an unmanaged weakness can get you kicked out. We're all told to 'play to our strengths,' and that's great advice for finding roles where we can shine. But ignoring a critical weakness—like poor organization, difficulty with direct feedback, or messy data skills—is like building a beautiful house on a shaky foundation. It doesn't matter how great the rest of the house is if the foundation cracks. Addressing a key weakness isn't about achieving perfection; it's about shoring up your foundation so your strengths have a stable platform to stand on.


Where to start? How to find your 'productive weakness':

  • Look for Friction: What tasks do you consistently dread, procrastinate on, or receive constructive feedback about? That friction is a clue.

  • Listen to Your Excuses: Think about feedback you might have dismissed by saying, "Well, that's just not one of my strengths." Is there a pattern?

  • Ask This Question: "What is one skill that, if I were just 10% better at it, would make my main job significantly easier and less stressful?"

  • Focus on Productive Weaknesses: Remember, this isn't about being bad at something irrelevant. It's about a weakness that directly impacts your work, your team, or your professional reputation.


Your 15-Minute Mitigation Mission:

  • Bad at organizing project details? Find a simple project plan template online.

  • Struggle with writing concise emails? Watch a 5-minute YouTube video on the "BLUF" (Bottom Line Up Front) method.

  • Avoid difficult conversations? Look up one simple script for how to open the conversation respectfully.

Like what you’ve read?

I’m full of practical strategies like this. When you're ready to explore how coaching can help you build on your strengths and manage the weaknesses that matter, let's connect:

Want more actionable tips?

Explore all previous editions in the "Segment of One" Archive

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June 24, 2025 - Boost Your Mid-Year Success Now!