February 14th, 2007
Tell Me Your Weaknesses
I spell horribly. I am very slow typing. In the past I was very quiet and shy, and at times I still am. As a leader I had to work extra hard not to alienate employees of average abilities. The rap on me was, I was great with the super stars but could not relate to average performers. That was fine when I managed a small group. In a small group it is possible to have a team of stars. As I developed as a manager and received larger responsibilities, I learned to respect and develop relationships with average performers. If you agree, most organizations are 20% above average, 60% average 15% below average and 5% on death row,5% will never make it. Then you will discover the average performers make your business.
Through out my career, I looked for things about my self in which I could improve on.I have taken coures on prsentations skills, written communications, selling skills, advantage executive programs, and much more. I still spell horribly, but I have improved my computor skills . I had to come out of my shell in order to be successful in sales and marketing.
I share this with you for 2 reasons. A job interview, and your personal growth as a business person. I remember my interview at Xerox, I the quiet shy, early 20 something young man interviewing for a sales job. I looked as good as I could with a nappy afro and a borrowed suit.
I thought I was on a roll and then the Manager said, tell me your weaknesses. I am thinking, ” you want me to tell you what, you can’t be serious!” He was and I muttered something like, sometimes I work too hard. Ya that’s it.The point is, do not be intimidated by this question. Be prepared to discuss how you have improved upon a weakness you to have and are working on a solution to a current developmental opportunity.
Speaking of development, take personal responsibility for your own inprovement. Be hard on yourself but be aware of things that if you can improve upon, you will be more productive.You will get your review from your boss but in many cases you will be aware of weakness the boss dose not know about. In the case of strenths, you will speak up, if the boss misses some. For weaknesses, it is not your place to point them out.
As a business pro, you are your own product. It is your duty to make you the product as productive and valued as possible. There are many ways to get at your chronic weakness. In my case for spelling and typing, I had good secetaries or can figure out how to spellcheck. I do not alway spellcheck because I have learned, a good post today is better than a great one tomorrow.
So tell me, What are your weakness, what are you going to do to improve. Give us an example of fixing a weakness. For blacks in business with white management, sometimes their feedback is bias. That is why we have to be able to manage ourselves. Working on improving a weakness is a good way to start.
February 14th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Jim, another nail well driven, because it is in our weakness that we find out that God’s grace is sufficient. One of my weak points is not wanting to use a spell check when I should.
Really, the Apostle Paul had it
right, it better to let our boasting be about our weaknesses
because then we are made strong
by Jesus Christ. Bro. Jim it appears to me You raise issues
that are very encouraging for those of us who love the truth. It’s a blessing seeing your touch with people, You are an encouragement to mankind. FaithWorks! Keep on brethren certianly we benefit knowing
that Knowledge and Wisdom hint is understanding the Mystery of God revealed in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Grace to You and Peace!
Jim Legington
February 14th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Bravo Jim for being willing to share your weaknesses and make strides to overcome them.
Mr. Legington…AMEN!!!
February 15th, 2007 at 12:35 am
Now I know why I like to sit back and observe before I hastily do something. When I first started reading this blog I thought, “wow, here’s a black business owner that doesn’t know how to spell-check before he posts on the web? He’s making us look bad.” I figured I’d give you the benefit of the doubt because hey, you may not be used to using computers and typing for yourself. Well this post certainly explains it. I have an even larger respect for you because of it. Since I started my own blog, I’ve noticed how easy it is for mistakes to creep in, and I only have about 10 posts! I think you correct in that “good enough” is better than “great”. Especially since “great” doesn’t always happen. Keep up the good work.
February 15th, 2007 at 7:26 am
I don’t have any! LOL Brilliant post James, truly!
With time I realized there is no shame in admitting we have weaknesses (intellectual honesty) but of course we have to be careful who we share them with so that those who are looking for “material” to drag us down don’t.
One thing which I have always struggled with is my perfectionism, really I would spend way too long on something simple cause I wanted it to be perfect and no matter how much I reviewed it it never seemed perfect. As a result I wasted a lot of time and while being meticulous is usually perceived as a strength it was a weakness for me and I had to learn to say “screw it” I reviewed that twice already, send it!
I am so much better off today and still learning not to be such a stickler:)
phhh I feel good admitting that hun, thanks for the platform to do so…you’re like a priest at confession LOL
hugz
T
February 15th, 2007 at 11:45 am
All the comments are valid and compelling. It is easier now for me to admit weakness and not worry about carring the torch for all black people. I have been blessed with decades of success and honors that my confidence is intact.George’s point is deep, and worthy of more reflection. Every thing we do as black people reflect upon the whole race. If a white man cannot spell, he may be excused or just be a dumb white man, for us we carry the burden of representing the whole race. Untill we are allowed to be one aspect of a diverse race of people we risk, never taking risk for fear of making all black people look bad. As blacks in business, develop a business plan based on market opportunties, your strenghts, weaknesses, and value you bring. Be well aware , that you may fail, but know you will fail if you do not try.
Racist will always judge us by what is wrong with us , not by the many good things. They are inclined to see only good things about people that look like themselves. That being the landscape, we must still win and over come doubters.
February 16th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
[...] Do You Bear The Torch For Your Race? On the Black In Business blog, Jim posted about personal weaknesses and improving them. I made a comment about how one of Jim’s weaknesses (poor spelling) could be interpreted as making blacks in general look like poor spellers. His response was very profound: [...]
February 19th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Simmering Black Man’s passion for debate is only out done by his compassion towrd fellow black men. Thanks for having my back.
Having a profound answer dose not make poor spelling right, and I need to work on improving. I do want to reflect on other blacks in a postive fashion by having compelling post.The nations best newspapers have mistakes in them so perhaps perfection is unatainable, but by chasing perfection, excellence can be within reach.
November 1st, 2007 at 1:48 pm
[...] JD Tell Me Your Weaknesses [...]
August 8th, 2008 at 5:28 am
Jim,
A perfect point - What are your weaknesses. A number of times this one question changes the whole course of an interview and puts the candidate in the right perspective in front of the interviewer. It is always good to have the courage to be honest and accepting your weakness and then work on overcoming the same rather than burrying it somewhere and failing in life.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Bimal, thanks for your comment, we all have weakness, once you know yours, a plan to get better must be in play