If only I were more…

Have you never dreamed of being more like this or more like that? And thus be more successful in life?

 Well, a long time ago a teacher said to me: 'Don't try to be good at something you're obviously not, but capitalize on what you're good at!'

 He was right, and I learned a lot from it; we're all so different, and we tend to want qualities we lack. Improving your skills is a good thing but taking a Management Training doesn't mean you will be a great manager.

When you determine one of your strengths, dig a little bit and you'll find out that this strength has an opposite, a weakness, most probably induced by that strength, or from the other side, a strength induced by a weakness. It may be hard to accept as we don't like to admit we have weaknesses, but they are part of us like strengths are, and these so called weaknesses may turn into valuable strengths if only we take time to think of them in a positive way and use them as such.

 While building a team, it is normal that you choose someone with a specific strength for a specific role. This is not merely about knowledge or technical skills like accounting, engineering or any technical skill you've acquired throughout the years, but also your soft skills, those that make your unique personality, like empathy, your natural positive attitude, or your ability to gain consensus. If you are very thorough and analytical, you may have trouble taking very quick decisions, and if you are sensitive, you may not be able to make that difficult decision that will save your business. But these are of course only a few assumptions.

 So start the journey by knowing who you are, write down what you think are your strengths and weaknesses, ask your friends, family and relatives, ask your colleagues. With all these you'll start to know, not only how you see yourself, but also how others see you, and get a good picture of the person you look at in the mirror every morning. You may also use some external assessment tools built for instance, on 'Gallup Strength Finder' or the 'Belbin Team Roles', but beware, don't rely solely on those but take the results as an additional information that will give you a better global picture.

 Now you know yourself a little better, be who you really are, find opportunities that really fit you, let go these dreams of becoming the perfect 'whatsoever', and start to capitalize on what you do best. Get surrounded by people who will bring you what you believe you lack, and in return bring them what they need in you, and you'll be able to build the best team!