LeadershipHQ Magazine February 2015 1st Edition | Page 9

WHY FOCUSING ON OUR
STRENGTHS IS IMPORTANT
“Success is achieved
by developing our
strengths, not by
eliminating our
weaknesses.”
-Marilyn vos Savant

Why do so many of us focus on
weaknesses? It’s all about strengths!
Whether it’s your own personal performance, or the performance of
your team, you’ve probably been
focused on identifying and overcoming faults, weaknesses and
shortcomings as a way to improve
results. While it’s certainly true that
everyone is “just human” and has
flaws and imperfections, research
shows that the path to becoming
great lies not in focusing on our
faults, but on our strengths.
In today’s world, it is more important than ever that we take steps to
set ourselves apart from our com-

8 | © LeadershipHQ 2015

petition. One clear way to gain a
competitive edge is to become
great or exceptional in your field.
Why the 10,000 Hour Rule Supports Developing Our Strengths
Are you familiar with the work of
Malcolm Gladwell? He is a bestselling author who is famous for
his research in the fields of leadership, excellence and social psychology. According to Gladwell,
success in any field is based on an
individual developing one or two
stand out abilities or natural talents to the point that they are no
longer just competent or average,
but are great.