Page 156 - The extraordinary leader

Great Leaders Possess Multiple Strengths • 133

of receiving this apparently “counterintuitive” or contrarian message. Some-
thing in our culture says that you pass over the higher scores and go directly
to the lowest ones. In this example, one of the areas for improvement would
likely be communications. Typical plans for change would have the person
systematically tackle the lowest scores, get those fixed, and move on to the
next lowest scores. That logic assumes that it is the areas of lower effective-
ness that hurt this person’s performance. People seem more satisfied with a
fairly consistent profile, with all competencies at about the same level.

Philosophies of Effectiveness

Most people, whether consciously or unconsciously, adhere to a philosophy
that their effectiveness is substantially hurt by lower performance in any area.
The solution is, of course, to fix the weaknesses. We are not certain of the gen-
esis of this belief. Possibly it stems from our educational experiences. The rec-
ollection many have of school is a focus on what they did wrong. Think back.
Can you remember taking a test and having the teacher or professor spend
additional time emphasizing the answer that everyone in the class got correct?
On the other hand, do you remember reviewing the answers the class got
wrong? (You could argue that there is a certain logic to focusing on the prob-
lems missed, or the information that no one could recall.)
We argue, however, that time spent emphasizing the success people had
would also have been extremely valuable.
Another explanation is that we all seek to be well-rounded “Renaissance
people.” The assumption is that we should be good at everything. There is
something inherently weak or inferior about acknowledging that there are
some things I do well, and there are some things I don’t even try to do. We
admire the “iron man” who runs a marathon, swims 3 miles, and then rides
a bicycle for another 50 miles.
Whatever the source, there is a pervasive belief that I should eliminate my
weaknesses, and by so doing I will become a more effective person. A grow-
ing number of voices, however, convey a different message. For example, the
respected research psychologist Martin Seligman writes: “I do not believe that
you should devote overly much effort to correcting your weaknesses. Rather,
I believe that the highest success in living and the deepest emotional satis-
faction comes from building and using your signature strengths.” He contin-
ues, “... the good life is using your signature strengths every day to produce