How often do you admit to having weaknesses? To yourself? To others?

That is the first step.

So, here goes. I’m not particularly good at selling myself. In business, it is without doubt a weakness. It isn’t that I have any issue with sales per se, with money or with rejection – none whatsoever.

It is specifically around prospecting – around reaching out to random souls to see if they may be interested in investing in my services. It feels like an intrusion. I perfectly understand that this can be recast as doing the world a disservice by hiding my light under a bushel, but it just isn’t the type of conversation I enjoy. It is specifically around having to prove my worth in a vacuum – I would prefer to let the work speak for itself rather than talking about it.

However, this is only a weakness in a world in which I work alone. Once I combine my skillset with a top-class salesperson, my weakness becomes a strength because it means I wholly focus on serving and delighting clients.

In practice, as opposed to philosophically, a weakness is only a weakness insofar as it does us a disservice. Once we can reconfigure the situation, we may well find we can turn it into a strength.

Questions in the Image:

  • What can I learn from my weaknesses?
  • i) What weaknesses can I admit having?
  • ii) In what circumstances are they weaknesses?
  • iii) How might they be strengths?

Want to Read More Around This Topic?

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown (link to Amazon.co.uk). This book encourages readers to embrace their vulnerabilities and imperfections, viewing them as catalysts for courage, compassion and connection rather than simply as weaknesses.

Nurturing Curiosity – Daily Practice: This is part of the Nurturing Curiosity series of tools, insights and questions designed to help nurture curiosity as part of our daily practice. In point of fact, every interaction we have is an opportunity to question what we are observing and how we and others are seeing the world. Also remember that questions come in many forms throughout our day. In fact, I am currently waiting for someone to drop off a package and every 10 seconds my brain is going – Are they here? Are they here? Not only will the drop-off interrupt my thinking, but I am amplifying it by continually interrupting myself. In short, my concern about being interrupted is triggering my brain to interrupt itself. How does that make sense? How might I stop interrupting myself? What is my deeper concern here?

What Thoughts Would You Like to Share? My name is Tom O’Leary, and I envision a world in which curiosity shapes leadership. In this world, leaders aren’t boxed in by traditional thinking or established playbooks. They are open to fresh ideas and diverse perspectives, fostering a culture of exploration and learning. My mission is to shift leadership focus from authority, over-measurement and control to curiosity, learning and innovation, empowering leaders to prioritise the essential. My journey, lived in a number of countries and through various languages, has always been driven by a profound sense of curiosity. In fact, life has taught me that possibility lies not so much in seeking answers but in learning to ask better questions – the ones that help prioritise what is truly essential. I welcome your thoughts, feedback, or personal experiences related to these questions or any insights they may have sparked.