Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

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Personal strengths and weaknesses determine how an individual will perform in their careers and lives. Clifton and Nelson (2010), defines strengths as “things that one does well” (p. 42). Strengths are traits of a person’s performance or views that result in personal gratification and reward. Effective leaders should strive to develop their personal strengths. Strengths can be drawn from things that an individual currently excels at or those from the past. Weaknesses on the other hand, are things that result in lessened productivity. Good leaders are able to identify both strengths and weaknesses and utilize them to become more effective at their profession (Clifton & Nelson, 2010). According Hodges and Clifton (2004) “it’s best to focus on strengths rather than on weaknesses and changing the therapeutic paradigm to focus on helping others to excel in a few areas rather than becoming average in many” (p. 258). Understanding ones strengths and weaknesses can be stressful. However, strength comes from honesty, meaning it is important to identify your weakness. Again, it is important to know where your strength lies and how capable and competent you are. Pursuing strength The practice of identifying and playing to a personal strength is not pursued in today’s society. This is mostly because the pursuit of one’s personal strengths can be surprisingly difficult. Our society as a whole spends the majority of its time focusing on ridding itself of its perceived weaknesses. Most people with a talent or strong skill sets generally do not live an exciting, productive or rewarding life because their time is spent developing a weakness rather than building up their strengths. West (2005) believes that the desire to constantly improve oneself... ... middle of paper ... ...com/content/148691/making-strengths-based-development-work.aspx Clifton, D. O., & Nelson, P. (2010). Soar with your strengths: A simple yet revolutionary philosophy of business and management. New York, NY: Bantam Books. Hodges, T., & Clifton, D. (2004). Strengths-based development in practice. In P Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.). Positive practice in psychology (pp. 256-268). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Satterlee, A. (2009). Organizational Management and Leadership: A Christian Perspective. Roanoke, VA: Synergistics International Inc. West, W. D. (2005). Should you concentrate on strengths or weaknesses? Optometric Management, 40(5), Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/docview/204684374 Zenger, J. (2009). Strengths or weaknesses? Leadership Excellence, 26(5), 14-15. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204625759?accountid=12085

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