How to Improve Your Strengths and Work On Your Weaknesses

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What’s the key to continually improving yourself and finding success? Self-awareness.

After all, you can’t improve if you don’t know where you need to improve. And you can’t grow your talents if you don’t know your strengths and things you are already good at.

Improving your strengths and working on your weaknesses can start with one simple activity that only involves a piece of paper and a pen.

I put together a video which talks about this in more detail. Please check it out below and if you want more content like this you can subscribe to my Youtube channel.

On one side of the paper, write down all of your strengths. On the other side, write down all of your weaknesses.

Be honest with yourself and use this exercise as a chance for self-reflection. No one is checking on you, so truly evaluate yourself without worrying what anyone else thinks. Write down as many strengths and weaknesses as you can think of, even if the lists are uneven. 

Then, take it one step further by mapping your strengths to different career paths, future goals, or plans for growth. For example, if you write down that one of your strengths is communication, you can map out what to do with that communication skill, such as becoming a speaker, working in marketing, or writing a book.

Mapping your weaknesses creates ways you can improve. For example, if you list that one of your weaknesses is being bossy, you can map out steps to overcome bossiness, such as taking a step back in meetings, actively listening to other people, and becoming a team player. Your map can help you turn your weaknesses into positive attributes.

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Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of my favorite leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here.

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This activity is simple, but it’s a crucial first step towards self-awareness and improving your strengths and weaknesses. You may have an idea of what you’re good at and what you need to improve, but actually seeing your strengths and weaknesses written out gives you a better idea of where you are and gives you time to reflect.

Check in with yourself regularly and perform this exercise every month or quarter. Over time, you’ll see your strengths column grow as you improve and eliminate your weaknesses.

The path to self-awareness starts with a pen and paper. And it can make all the difference in how you see yourself and how you grow. 

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If you enjoyed the article and want more content like this here’s what you can do:

1. Subscribe to The Future of Work Podcast where I interview business leaders around the world each week.

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3. If you are or want to be an entrepreneur then my wife and I just launched a brand new podcast on how to Be Your Own Boss, called the BYOB Podcast where we share what we did and how we did it. You can subscribe to that here.