When Strengths Turn Into Weaknesses

It’s important to know when your Strength is crossing over to the dark side, and turning into a Weakness.

There was a time when professional development was focused on identifying what we didn’t do well, trying to improve on our weaknesses. The thought was that the best way to improve would be to fix what was wrong. What we found was no matter how much effort we put into improving our weaknesses, we saw very little difference overall. That’s because not only does focusing on our weaknesses only produce marginal results, it also makes us unhappy, frustrated, disengaged, and exhausted. The pendulum then swung to the other side, when we saw studies such as one done by Gallup in 2016, that showed individuals that focus on their strengths are happier, engaged, and more productive. The idea is if you do something well, you should find a way to do more of that to achieve optimal results.

The problem is that even a strength, pushed too far, done to an extreme, misused, or used in the wrong situation, can turn into a weakness and produce negative results. Every strength has a dark side. It’s important to know when you are crossing over to the dark side, and turning a strength into a weakness.

“Often our greatest weaknesses are the other side of our strengths” Melinda Gates

It is important to find the right balance, and also make sure you are applying your strengths appropriately based on the situation. Think of it as the goldilocks principle; not too much, not too little, but just right. Every strength has an associated weakness if pushed too far or used in the wrong situation. After identifying your strengths, you need to take another look to understand what that strength looks like when used “just right” versus the negative side effects of overuse or use in the wrong situation.

To help ensure your strengths are being applied “just right” ask yourself the following questions:

What are your core strengths?

Forbes Coaches Council published a listing of “Best Tests to Help You Understand Your Strengths and Weaknesses”, including some FREE tests that can help you identify your strengths. You can also take the CliftonStrengths Assessment which will help you determine what you naturally do best.

What do those strengths look like when overused?

How do you know if you are overusing a strength? The Leadership Versatility Index® developed by Kaiser, Overfield, and Kaplan for 360 reviews offers the “Too Little / Too Much” scale that helps identify where a strength needs to be “turned up” or “turned down” in order to be most effective. More traditional performance reviews have scales that rate qualities or behaviors from 1 to 5, with the assumption that “more is better”, not taking into account that sometimes “more” does not provide optimal results. If you use the latter in your organization, look at the 5’s to determine if there is potential you are overusing those strengths, or ask for specific feedback on whether you are doing too much of something. You can also refer to the list below to see what “too much” looks like for various strengths, or refer to the Strengths Cross Reference Guide provided by the University of Minnesota which identifies the unhealthy side to each of the CliftonStrengths®.

“More isn’t better. It’s just more. And if directed at the wrong things, it’s actually worse.”

In what situations would your strengths provide value versus producing negative results?

It’s not only important to understand a strength overused, it’s also important to understand times where your strengths could produce negative results based on the situation. For each situation, you may need to adjust the “dial” of your strength, turning it up or down to get the most impact. An example is being assertive. An assertive leader stands up for themselves and their team, they create respect and trust through honest and authentic communication, and they get things done because they take the bull by the horns and confidently make things happen. However, being assertive is not appropriate for all situations. When you are leading a team of highly skilled professionals who prefer independence, being assertive could demotivate the team. In that situation you may want to turn the dial down on that strength.

As you are preparing your Personal Development Plan, in addition to identifying your strengths and weaknesses, be sure to also identify where your strengths are at risk of being overused or used in the wrong situation. Doing so will help you find the right balance to be most effective and to create positive results.

To help you get started, following are examples of strengths done “just right” versus “too much” and suggestions to find the right balance.

Resources

1. Haller, Dr. Nancy (2015). A Strength Overused Becomes a Weakness. https://www.mckenziemgmt.com/managementtips/print/haller/PrintDrHallerArticle186.html
2. How your Greatest Strength Can Become Your Greatest Weakness. https://www.peterberry.com.au/media/1339/derailers_nl_june_12_edited.pdf
3. Hogan Assessments. https://www.hogandarkside.com/#
4. Leadership Versatility Index by Kaiser. https://leadershipversatilityindex.com/
5. Rigoni, Brandon & Asplund, Jim (2016). Strengths-Based Employee Development: The Business Results. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236297/strengths-based-employee-development-business-results.aspx
6. Gallup CliftonStrengths Quick Reference Guide. https://www.gallup.com/file/workplace/245090/CliftonStrengthsQuickReferenceCard.pdf
7. WorkLife with Adam Grant. When Strength Becomes Weakness. WorkLife with Adam Grant: When strength becomes weakness
8. Grant, Adam (2019). When Strength Becomes Weakness. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-strength-becomes-weakness-adam-grant/
9. Housing and Residential Life at the University of Minnesota. https://www.med.umn.edu/sites/med.umn.edu/files/strengths_quick_reference_guide_w_pro_con_.pdf