Internalizing Strengths: An Overlooked Way of Overcoming Weaknesses in Managers

Because executives tend to be problem solvers, they typically focus on weaknesses when theywant to improve their performance. This approach can be helpful but there is another that can be justas effective: recognizing strengths. A senior manager whom the author interviewed said this about atop person: “If he saw his own strengths and internalized them, a lot of his weaknesses would goaway.” In this report, the author explains why it is critical to recognize strengths in order to improveperformance and why it is often difficult to get that notion across to executives. For practicingmanagers and those who develop them, this report offers sound but often neglected developmentalprinciples for overcoming weaknesses.