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Sunday, April 27, 2008

The Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness

9:51 PM |



















The Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness
ChangeThis | 09-April-2008 | isbn 0402578684402 | English | PDF | 27 pages | 1 Mb

What is your biggest weakness? Nearly every job interview includes this question. Once you get the
job, the same question will be asked during performance evaluations, and this time your manager
will have their own perspective. Your co-workers and subordinates might even offer their opinions as
part of 360-degree feedback.
Your family also has strong feelings about your flaws and limitations. Even complete strangers
are eager to offer feedback regarding your driving skills. Given this constant criticism and your own
self-awareness, you have probably developed some sense of what is wrong with you.
What should you do with this knowledge? How should you respond?

There are three basic options for self-improvement.

fix weaknesses
build on strengths
do both

The most common choice is to build on strengths and fix weaknesses, usually with special attention
to fixing weaknesses. This is prevalent at work where annual appraisals are focused on overcoming
our apparent limitations. Similarly, in homes and schools, parents and teachers expect children
to excel in all academic subjects, athletic activities and social skills. Those who are lacking in any
particular area are confronted with their flaws and given strategies for improvement.

The obvious goal of these remediation efforts is to foster success by producing well-rounded people.
However, do these efforts really work, and is being well-rounded a worthy or realistic goal? My experience
as an individual, consultant, parent and leader indicates that efforts to fix weaknesses are ineffective.
Furthermore, I believe that the goal of being well-rounded is both undesirable and impossible to attain.
The purpose of this manifesto is to explain why I believe this and to offer a better alternative.



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