Three Myths About Your Strengths 

Mythical warriors were really tough guys. However, they usually had some tragic flaws. For example, Achilles had a heel which didn’t… heal, and Cuchulain unwittingly made mistakes which cost his nearest and dearest their lives.

Is it possible to only have strengths and no weaknesses? Can we overdo our strengths so much that they ultimately turn into weaknesses?

Check out: Three Myths About Your Strengths

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Glossary

• dispel – make (a doubt, feeling, or belief) disappear
• prominent – important, famous
• touchy-feely – openly expressing affection or other emotions, esp. through physical contact
• conceive – form a mental representation of; imagine
• proverb – a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or piece of advice
• linger – be slow to disappear or die

Think about it

 Answer the questions below.

• Briefly summarize Peter Drucker’s view on strengths.
• According to the author, can you really overdo your strengths?
• If highly developed strengths were to turn into weaknesses, what bearing would it have on the results achieved by highly effective executives?
• Describe the relation between strengths and de-railers as described in the author’s study.
• What was the late Steve Jobs an example of?

Practice makes perfect 

Fill in the blank spaces with the expressions in bold.

associated behavior   –   reasonable amounts   –   serious problems   –   massive doses   –   beneficial things   –   utterly essential   –   excessively honest   –   overly blunt

There is no question that there are ______ ______a person can do that if taken to excess can become______ ______. As many have pointed out, people can die from ______ ______ of water, which in ______ ______ is ______ ______. But leadership strengths don’t work the same way. When people think of overdoing a strength, what they’re really thinking about is overdoing some______ ______. The distinction becomes easier to see if you ask yourself a question like, “Can an executive be ______ ______?” Those who think so might fear too much honesty would lead someone to be ______ ______or boorish. That may be so, but it’s not inevitable, and it’s boorishness and bluntness that would then be the problem, not honesty in itself.

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