Knowing your strengths and weaknesses…
As a business mentor, I know that when starting or growing a business, it’s important to make sure you know yourself, before you know your business. A big part of this is identifying your strengths and weaknesses. Yes, it’s 100% essential to have a solid, clear vision of your business, we know this. But what’s even more important is knowing who YOU are and what YOU want.
How are you going to build a sustainable business if you don’t know what your aspirations are? Or if you don’t have an end goal you’re trying to achieve?
As I said, a huge part of learning about yourself is figuring out your strengths and weaknesses. Figuring out exactly what you’re good at, as well as what you’re not so good at or what you need to work on.
Something I’ve noticed amongst people similar to me is that our brains tend to focus on the bad. We’re always our own worst critic and will focus on what we’ve done wrong, or what we haven’t done. Rather than giving ourselves that pat on the back for everything good that we do, and all of our hard work.
Thinking in such a negative way is going to end up bringing us down, which will affect our work flow and work processes in one way or another. This is why it’s so important to think positively and give ourselves the recognition we often deserve.
Knowing our strengths and knowing are weaknesses are two things that are equally important. But why is it so important?
Let’s look into this in more detail…
Some examples of strengths may include…
- You’re a strong delegator
- You’ve got a unique way of thinking
- You’re quick with numbers – finances etc.
Knowing your strengths, as I’ve said, is so important. Whilst it’s equally as vital as figuring out your weaknesses, we need to learn to embrace what we’re good at. You may find it difficult to give yourself credit sometimes, especially if you’ve always put yourself at the bottom of your list. But you need to learn how to recognise when you’re doing well, because it will be much more often than you think.
Recognising your strengths and embracing them, giving yourself that credit, is a huge for keeping yourself motivated. Try not to get caught up in the bad stuff like we discussed earlier. Giving yourself recognition is definitely going to help with that.
It will improve your confidence in yourself, your work, and your general life with your family or friends.
Use your strengths to an advantage. If you know you’re good at something, or are the best person for the job, put yourself forward, and throw yourself into it! Take the opportunity, and it will benefit you massively.
Some examples of weaknesses may include…
- Poor time management
- You don’t plan ahead
- You let stress or pressure get the better of you
We need to accept our weaknesses. This is the complete opposite end of the scale to your strengths. And in the same way, you may struggle to accept your weaknesses! I’ve definitely seen people struggle with this in the past, but it shouldn’t be used against you. You may be scared to accept the fact you’re not so good at something, as you may be afraid of judgement from others.
Or maybe you’ve just always found it difficult to notice or recognise what you need to work on, if you’ve had limited experience. The only way to know if we’re good at something is to try it. Throw ourselves into it and see what happens!
Whilst accepting your flaws may seem like a bad thing on paper, if you think about it, it’s definitely going to benefit you. Noticing your weaknesses is going to keep you humble, and grounded.
We must learn from our mistakes, and make a conscious decision to improve the things we CAN. Because let’s face it, there are some things we simply aren’t great at.
That being said, you must consider whether it’s worth your time. Spend your time doing what you’re good at! Outsourcing tasks you know could be done better to someone who works in that area will be much more efficient, and beneficial to you and your business.
So, accept your weaknesses, embrace your strengths!
How can I recognise my strengths and weaknesses?
There’s a whole chapter on defining your strengths and weaknesses in my ‘Step by Step Guide to Starting or Growing a Successful Business’ online course. Check it out! Why not enrol today? It’s under ‘The Unique Mumpreneur’ brand, I rebranded to Jo Bevilacqua Mentoring last year!
The best way to recognise them is to simply list down all your strengths and weaknesses. You could do it all at once, or keep adding to a list as you go along. Try and keep it in the front of your mind when you’re going about your day, whether working or at home. Eventually you’ll start to notice a strength or weakness of yours as they crop up!
Another great way would be to simply ask your peers. Like we talked about earlier, some struggle to recognise their strengths and weaknesses on their own. So, ask the people you trust. Start a list and write down everything each person says. Read through and see what you agree with, and what resonates with you.
I’m a firm believer that we should throw ourselves into any opportunities that we come across, and always give 100%. The more you throw yourself into, the more you’re going to learn about yourself, and be able to figure out your goals and aspirations.
Learn even more about strengths and weaknesses in my course! There’s worksheets for you to do included on this chapter, as well as a TON more content on how to build a successful, sustainable business. Check it out here.
