The Hogan Assessment, which we use at the Institute to assess personal values, drivers and preferences, talks about “derailers.” A “derailer” is a thing that is considered your strength…but that can work against you if it’s not in check.
Good article in NY Times this week about Ron Artest, the maligned basketball player who seems to leave a trail of unhappy people behind him. In the article the comment is made that his “emotion” is both his biggest strength and his biggest downfall. “It’s a fine balance,” says teammate Brad Miller.
In his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Marshall Goldsmith also talks about this tendency leaders have to embrace their strengths but fail to realize those can hinder you, too.
An Assignment
In the spirit of ‘action and accountability, here’s an exercise: Take a look at your top 5 strengths (according to you). If you are really conscientious about this, go to a mini-360 where you ask a few people what your strengths are. Then, next to those strengths, write down how those might fail you if left unchecked.
It’s truly amazing when we do that exercise in our leadership programs. We’re all quick to list what we’re good at. But it takes a few minutes to imagine those being weaknesses, too. But eventually you’ll come up with a few of those that start to work against you.
So if your ego can handle it, do the exercise. It will help you in the long run–to know yourself better.
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