Don’t just choose the right jobs, avoid the wrong ones
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We regularly talk to you about seeking a role that plays to your strengths, as this is a key pattern from our research into successful careers. However, while I was delivering one of our Drive Your Career programmes last week, I was struck by how it is equally important to understand the things that you’re bad at, and how these should influence your decisions – to pursue a career path or not take a job you’ve been offered – even if it’s one you think you want to say yes to.
Our weaknesses can have a huge impact on our job performance, careers and overall happiness. And are loosely split into four different types:
Your strengths build a great reputation; your weaknesses can undermine it. Understand your weaknesses, and use this knowledge to drive your career in a direction that allows you to spend 90% of your time in your areas of strength, and rarely exposes your weaknesses.
Our weaknesses can have a huge impact on our job performance, careers and overall happiness. And are loosely split into four different types:
- Weaknesses to develop
Sometimes our weaknesses are down to inexperience. We have an appetite to develop in this area – we just know that we don’t know all the answers and are still on the learning curve. Moving into a job that will require us to do this type of work is a good career move – for example, most of us moved into management roles with an inexperience weakness in leading people. The key to success is to put together a good support and learning plan; this might involve shadowing, training, and mentoring on a weekly basis. Be aware however that sometimes we discover that we don’t after all like this kind of work as much as we thought we would – in which case, this is great learning! Recognise this and adjust the direction of your ambitions. - Weaknesses that cause procrastination
We can’t always avoid the things we’re not very good at – there are some things that we feel we’re bad at, but still have to do. We just have to suck it up and get on with it! But the reality is, those things often lead to procrastination – we know the task is relatively simple and better off done, but we put it to the bottom of our “to do” list and try to avoid it. It’s really critical for your career that you don’t take on roles and career paths where frankly, you might be procrastinating a lot of the time! Check the job description – how much of the work you’ll have to do falls into this category? - Weaknesses to manage
Sometimes the job you do or want is great – but part of it requires a skill that you know you’re bad at. You might have tried to develop it, but in your heart you know you will never be great at public speaking, or analysis, or networking. Instead you need to find some way of managing it. Are there colleagues who can help you? Are you in the fortunate position of hiring somebody who can help? Is there a way of changing a system or a process? Personally I have a weakness in being structured and organised, and after years of searching I found an app and a system that works for me really well and allowed me to get more done, and in a timelier fashion. What strategies will allow you to manage the impact of your weakness? - Weaknesses to avoid
Particularly early in your career (but sometimes later as well) we feel like we have a cloak of invincibility around us – that we are up to any challenge and can overcome anything! It’s a mode I know I can get into, believing I can do almost anything I set out to do, but equally I have a small glimmer of insight that nags me to realise that I’m not good at everything, nor do I enjoy everything. It can be a really empowering process to make a clear decision that there are certain types of work that you don’t enjoy, and will just decide not to do. This allows you to get more specific about the career you want. Maybe you want to do research and be a world-class specialist instead of a manager; or find that you like the cut and thrust of an operational role rather than a strategic thinking role; or want to work for a non-profit rather than a commercial organisation; or in a small entrepreneurial organisation rather than a big one. What you DON’T want to do often gives you clarity and direction in your career.
Your strengths build a great reputation; your weaknesses can undermine it. Understand your weaknesses, and use this knowledge to drive your career in a direction that allows you to spend 90% of your time in your areas of strength, and rarely exposes your weaknesses.