Admit It, Own It, Compensate For It

Leaders struggle with the urge to put on the perception that they are good at everything.  This is especially true early on in our leadership journey.  We some how believe people will see us as less credible if they know there is something we are not good at, so we attempt to hide all our shortcomings.  However, refusal to allow others (and yourself) to acknowledge your weaknesses never ends well.  Eventually, the weakness will come out and people will be much more disappointed that you led them under the false pretense that you knew what you were doing.

There is a different pathway for leaders, one where you don’t have to be perfect at everything.  It is the path of humility.  As someone once remarked, “It is better for you to humble yourself than to be humbled by another.”  Humility means being forthright with your areas of struggle as a leader.  It could be organization, communication, big picture planning, or in another facet of leadership. The humble leader learns to lay all this out on the table in three ways.

Admit It – Your team already knows where your weaknesses are.  They see them first-hand whether or not you have told them.  When you admit your weaknesses as a leader, it makes you transparent to those who follow you.  It also gives them permission to begin planning with your weaknesses in mind, which can benefit you and the overall organization.

Own It – Once admitted, the humble leader learns to own their weakness.  He or she begins to allow others who are more gifted in those areas to bring forth their best ideas.  Owning your weaknesses is one of the hardest parts of leadership because it requires you to do things differently.  As hard as it may be, it goes a long way in building trust with the team surrounding you.

Compensate For It – If you know that you are not an organizer, you have to get an organizational mind on your team.  If you know that you struggle in communication, you need someone alongside you who can communicate.  Find someone who is gifted in the area of your weakness and give him or her the freedom to excel where you cannot.  It is important that this person be intensely loyal to you and the organization.

We all have weaknesses… Learning to admit, own, and compensate for them is one of the most freeing and productive things you can do as a leader.