I have a group of leaders that I mentor. Some are older than me, some are the same age, and some are younger. But as a Pastor in my church, it is I who is the leader of this group of leaders that I’m raising.
We asked some questions last week, along the lines of “How do I lead myself well? How do I not lead myself well?”, and I of course came prepared already with my answers which was a very good excercise and made me think that I’d like to get to know you all better by asking a tough question today: what is your weakness?
My Weakness
I’m a strong person with a strong sense of direction and structure and the ability to obsessively become expert in an area very quickly. The weakness, however, is that I am not consistent. I can lead others well, but I tend to go through stages where I’m great, and stages where I’m not, and this is detrimental not only to myself, but to the teams I lead across the areas of my life.
I’m strategising ways to minimise this – accountability with mentors and friends, finding simpler ways to organise myself, having more thinking time and not being as busy, etc.
But perhaps the biggest way I’m minimizing it is through the conversations I’m having with all of you. The wisdom I gain from here is exceptionally insightful. I mean comments like this one from Robin Dickinson are like years of mentoring in one boast.
Your Leading Thoughts
- What is your weakness?
- How can we help you minimize it?
Archived Comments
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http://www.crushwebvideo.co.uk
Ah, that “i” word Scott! I know it well (inconsistency). I realised a few weeks why I’m inconsistent though – at least it’s a big part of the reason why … I try to implement too much at once. I’ve been focusing on just a few marketing strategies since then that I know worked for me and my clients and, I’ve kept my focus on those. As a result, a lot of emails on “you can make loads of money or, you can get loads of traffic doing this” have been deleted.
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http://stephenbateman.com/connect
Biggest weakness: I have a tendency to start something, get really excited and work really hard, then lose interest and move on.
Which sucks because on the outside, it’s like: “oh that’s interesting, wow this is exciting, oh I want to be involved, wait what happened?” Do that once or twice, see what kind of confidence you inspire
So my goal is to start things at a pace I can actually sustain. Which necessarily means going slower! It also involves the question: “what am I not doing as a result of this new thing?”
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http://gearboxmagazine.com
I’m in the same boat. The big picture is amazing! GOGOGO!
Then we get into the endless stream of little details and we can’t see the forest for the trees. Who would care about the Mona Lisa if viewing it required tracing every brush stroke with the eye? Man. This is lame. I no longer care.
Not sure how I would rectify this, as one cannot paint a masterpiece with a few broad strokes. That is, unless one is Jackson Pollack. Perhaps therein lies the answer?
Additionally, I feel my biggest weakness is not being able to execute on my evil plans for lack of resources to do so. I do what I do because it must be done, but I fear some corporate entity will happen upon my ideas, and capitalize on them before I’ve been able to really make anything happen. Dunno. Low grade paranoia from someone building a business debt-free, I guess.
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Hey Trish
Sorry for the late response.
I like what you’re saying here – Robin Dickinson would agree that too much means you don’t get anything done. We need to whittle down our to-do lists so that we can FOCUS on one area.
What is your main focus at the moment?
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Stephen – I have the same thing.
It’s because we are often good and starting things, but not finishing them. We need to learn how to MAINTAIN.
My advice to you would be: embrace the joy of doing the boring stuff. Because in the boring stuff is often the key to growth: the maintenance. Read: http://www.radsmarts.com/2010/10/the-secret-money-power-of-boredom/
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Brian – perhaps there are resources on this blog from the friends here who can help you?
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http://gearboxmagazine.com
I suspect there are, Scott, and appreciate being part of this community.
It’s like I’m push-starting a car. With enough people pushing, the job gets easier and, once the engine fires, we’re off to the races together.
No worries.
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Seeing things through and getting pulled in too many directions.
Reading the above comments I guess I encompass those of Stephen and Trish – we should start a self-help group!!!
Because I have a pretty varied skill set I often get offers from companies desperate for help, I duly support them and watch my other personal projects suffer.
I also find that I get incredibly excited and passionate about a project but as the weeks roll on and the boring stuff weighs me down I can lose that initial passion. I think you hit the nail on the head Scott that this is really the enemy of growth.
Off to watch your link now, thank you as ever, really got me thinking today of how to crack all this in 2011.
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When you’re ready – email me. Then I’ll do it as a dedicated blog post
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Dylan it’s a hard one that I continually fight with. I guess for me, accountability to someone else helps. I.e. having someone who checks you up and encourages you to keep maintaining. A mentor of sorts.
Scott
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http://gearboxmagazine.com
You’re pretty damn awesome, Scott. You know that, right?
I’ll let you know. Sometimes, I feel like we’re taking a page out of the Like Minds playbook…
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Better yet, you write the post. I’ve got an announcement to make soon about that…
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http://gearboxmagazine.com
Any chance you might point me to an email address I should use to contact you, sir?
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scott at scottgould dot me
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