Too Much of a Good Thing – Overuse of a Strength

Simple HaikuSimple Haiku

The good can be bad,

Too much of good can be bad,

Best to build more goods.

Abstract:  Strengths are great to have.  Today, we explore a key concept in leadership development: the overuse of strengths. In CCL, Lominger, Korn-Ferry, and now TalentTelligent, we have recognized that any strength - even virtues like integrity or intelligence - can lead to negative consequences when overused. Too much of a good thing – is not always a good thing.  Common beliefs that certain competencies can’t be overapplied are challenged with real-world examples, showing that balance is crucial. Leaders who advance without adapting their strengths risk undermining their effectiveness, as past skills may no longer serve them as well. Ultimately, true leadership mastery lies in recognizing when strengths may become liabilities and adjusting to meet evolving professional demands.

Over the decades of working with leadership development and competency engineering, we have found the topic of overusing a strength amusing.

In the CCL start, then the Lominger years, and then Korn-Ferry and now TalentTelligent, in every workshop, certification and installation, the phenomenon of overusing a strength has been covered.  We have always made the comment that ANY competency any KSA (Knowledge, Skill or Attribute) can be overused with negative consequences.  It can be too much of an otherwise good thing.

The participant's response is usually that it doesn’t apply to some competencies. The most mentioned are Integrity and Intelligence. You can’t be too truthful, and you can’t be too smart.

We would then pose the classic comedy situation.  Your life partner buys a new outfit for the season.  Comes into the room wearing the new outfit and asks you, does this outfit make me look bad?  The actual answer is, well I think the fact that you are overweight is what makes you look bad, it’s not the outfit.  Do you think anyone has ever said that?  Probably only a few dead people.  No one dared to tell the truth in the Emperor Has No Clothes lesson.  If they had told the truth, there could have been negative personal consequences.

Salt is a good thing. Think of Fast-Food fries: when they’re hot and perfectly salted, they’re amazing—but add just a bit too much salt, and something magnificent becomes abhorrent.

Even virtues like integrity, taken to extremes, can overwhelm rather than enhance. Good things come in the correct dose.

In the real world of work, is it always the best practice to tell the truth? Do the organization values of radical transparency and being authentic require total truth telling?  Although some might argue that the world would be better off if everyone told the truth, that’s probably not true today. There is Political Savvy.  Political savvy is the lubricant for interpersonal relations.  There are times for truth and times for less than truth.  As the famous movie line goes, you can’t handle the truth!  It all depends.  Who and what is involved?  Is this a good time for the truth?  Are the people involved ready for the truth?  Could the truth do any damage?  Are there going to be layoffs in this merger?  Yes, and all of you will probably lose your jobs!

Also, in all organizations, there is proprietary information.   Information held by and primarily for the benefit of a few.  There are laws and regulations about what information must be disclosed and to whom, and what information cannot be shared.  Internally, there is information intended to be known and used by level with the expectation that it is not shared downward or sometimes laterally. 

Managers and leaders have to learn two responses to requests for proprietary information from team members.  It sounds like this:

·       “I cannot share that information at the moment.  When I can, I will.”  Meaning I know the answer, but I cannot disclose it. 

·       That answer beats, “I don’t know” when later it becomes clear that they did.   And that’s lying. 

·       It also beats selective sharing to gain points.  “I shouldn’t be sharing this with you, but….” It's a sign of a flawed manager.

All KSAs have a similar narrative.  All can be overused.

In general, everyone has some strengths, some Oks and some weaknesses, along with a few blind spots and hidden strengths. 

Overuse can be chronic or situational. The fewer your real strengths, the more likely you are to overuse them.

Under stress and pressure, and tight time frames, people tend to revert to their strengths.

Most managers and leaders have strengths in cognitive and functional skills and managing things, but they are less skilled in emotional intelligence (EQ) skills.

Can you be too smart?  Yes, if you always strive to be the smartest person in the room.  Even if you are the smartest, sometimes that will not get you to where you need to go with your team members. 

Could you know too much?  Yes, if you hold it over others.  If you manage as if you are the only person that knows.

Could you plan too much?  Yes, if it leads to micromanagement and not allow creativity and flexing to change.

We promote motivated, smart, functionally skilled and thing managers (project managers).  To be people managers!  More than half fail at their first try due to a lack of people skills (EQ). 

Our fellow thought leader, Marshall Goldsmith, has a great book, What Got You Here, Will Not Get You There.  The point is that requirements change as you move up the ladder to the top.  Past strengths will not last you all the way.  There are at least three major shifts.  Individual Contributor to Team Leader, Supervisor, or Manager.  Instead of doing the work, you now have to manage the work of others.  You may start contributing to or making hire and fire decisions and attend many more meetings.  And you must begin to delegate.  And listen.  And collaborate.  Too many new managers continue to do too much of the work themselves.  They overuse their previous strengths and fail because they didn’t build new skills.

The next material shift is from Team Leader, Supervisor, or Manager to Director and Junior VP.  The two keys are first-time managing managers and beginning to have direct exposure to the top of the organization.  Responsible for translating vision, mission, and strategy down into the organization.  Political skills become more critical.  Presenting up increases.   Contributing to strategy and tactics.  Beginning to represent the organization to outside stakeholders.  Legal restrictions of what you can say to whom begins.  Maybe you begin managing a unit and being responsible for P&L.

Again, too many new junior executives continue to overuse past strengths.

The last jump is to the top.  Senior VP and the C-Suite.  Final arbiters of decisions.  Full responsibility.   There is quite a difference between contributing to the strategy creation process and selecting the final result.  Might even have to testify in congress!  Again, requirements are different, and too many try to make it with past strengths.   

In acute situations, you can overuse anything.  Too much humor.  Too much detail.  Too much collaboration.  Too much critical feedback.  Sadly -- all these things can become salty French fries.

Overuse can take other forms too – in frequency – too often.  In volume – too loud.  Inappropriate – not at the best time.   It can be chronic – all the time.  Situational – under high stress and pressure.   And worse, random – from time to time.

The cure is to understand the overuse concept.  Take joy in your current portfolio of strengths.  If you are climbing the career ladder, learn about the requirements of the next level BEFORE being promoted.  Keep the strengths that continue and begin to work on the ones in which you still need to be stronger.  Expect to have to build four baskets of strengths to be really successful. 

Across decades of leadership development, one of many truths endures: any strength, when overused, can become a liability.

Bob and LM Hanson

www.TalentTelligent.com