Exposing a weakness as a leader establishes trust and helps get people on board. -Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones

Our Thoughts: You aren’t perfect and shouldn’t communicate that you are. People want to feel NEEDED. As a leader, You CANT do it all. You need people to work with or for you. We like to say “with you”.

You should hire people with strengths that complement your weaknesses. First, you need to understand what those weaknesses are.

I don’t believe I have developed as a leader this far alone. I have been mentored and have had great relationships with employers as well as employees. As a military instructor, I had many classes that developed great working relationships. I had given my students a lot of feedback during the course of the 2 month period.

At the end of the 2 months, I allowed my students to give ME feedback. YES, I put myself in VULNERABLE positions! YES, I opened myself UP! I GREW from YEARS of doing that. 

I learned a lot about myself by doing that. I learned approaches that worked well and approaches that were less effective.

When I opened up and allowed people to tell me what he or she perceived as MY weakness, I received less negative feedback along the way. I got better–Because I asked people what they perceived as weaknesses. I worked hard to get better at the things I would consistently hear. The list got shorter along the way.

As leaders, our gut normally tells us when we are not good at something. If you are not great at something and know you should try one method over the other, tell the person. Tell the person that you are going to do your best at assisting him or her. If the problem is a heavy hitting issue, maybe refer that person to someone who is good at what is needed.  I have had mentors who have referred me to other people for things he or she is weak in….It gave me a larger respect for the mentor.