Every executive has a weakness. Most know it. The question is what happens next: Hide it, outsource it, or work on it.
In 2022, Forbes asked 12 members of its Coaches Council how senior leaders turn a weakness into a strength. I was one of them. Here are the 12 answers as I read them today, from the leadership development work I do with executives in Zurich and across Switzerland.
Look for people who already do what you struggle with. Watch how they handle the situation, then ask them how they got there. Most are flattered and will tell you. Add a second source: Ask the people around you what would change if you got better at this.
Origin: Craig Dowden, Craig Dowden & Associates
Shame makes a weakness worse, because you stop talking about it. Name what you could improve, then find someone who does it well, in your team or hired for it. Tell stakeholders what you're good at, so they trust your competence. Tell them what you delegate, so they trust your judgement.
Origin: Devika Das, CORE Executive Presence
Four steps: Face the facts, because you can't fix what you won't see. Prepare to feel uncomfortable, since comfort zones hold executives back more than any competitor. Set goals with dates and early milestones, and track them. Ask people for help and feedback on the issue.
Origin: Antonio Garrido, Absolute Sales Development
Design your plan with the people who feel your weakness most. Their input shows you what you can't see from the inside. Agree on how you'll update them on progress. Nothing raises accountability like a monthly question from your board or your team.
Origin: Bryan Powell, Executive Coaching Space
"I know that I do not know." Socrates was right, and it applies to leaders first. Admitting a weakness is no weakness. The real weakness is having nobody on the team who is strong where you're weak and who is allowed to be the go-to expert.
Origin: Michael Thiemann, Strategy-Lab
Pick someone who shows the strength you want. Interview them about their routines. Set no more than 3 measurable goals with a timeline, and name an accountability partner who tells you when to pivot and when to keep going. In leadership development, the partner matters more than the plan.
Origin: Shelley Hammell, Sage Alliance
Strength and weakness are two sides of one coin. First comes awareness of the weakness, then a set of coping strategies that use the environment to turn the situation around. Once those strategies become habit, the brain follows. The weakness turns into something you can work with.
Origin: Thomas Lim, Singapore Public Service, SportSG
This one is mine, and I still stand by it. Nobody is so bad that they can't at least serve as a bad example. The useful questions are different: Which resources, attitudes and competencies help you deal with yourself when the weakness shows up? Which interactions in your relationship system would turn it into enrichment? And the most important one: Who defines what counts as a weakness anyway?
Origin: Cristian Hofmann, Empowering Executives, SUPERGROUP AG
Put yourself in an environment that hits exactly this weakness and forces you beyond it. You leave the comfort zone, your confidence grows, and your picture of your real abilities changes. Uncomfortable, and faster than any seminar.
Origin: Andre Shojaie, City of Montreal
The idea that weaknesses are our biggest growth opportunities is a myth. Research points the other way: Leaders who build on strengths are happier and more successful. Work on a weakness only when it seriously hurts your well-being or your performance, and then quickly, directly and with professional help.
Origin: Andreas von der Heydt, Andreas von der Heydt Coaching & Consulting
A thought stays fleeting until you give it attention. Then it produces a feeling, and the feeling produces behaviour. Notice how you feel about your weakness and what you do as a result. Then flip it: How do you want to feel? Picture what it takes to close that gap.
Origin: Arthi Rabikrisson, Prerna Advisory
Avoid the word weakness and say development area instead. It shifts the focus to what a leader needs for the role, the team and the stakeholders. With diverse teams, leaders grow their strengths and surround themselves with people who are excellent where they aren't. That saves time, effort and money.
Origin: Clare Beckett-McInroy, Qatar Foundation
Eight of the 12 ideas have the same core: A weakness is a relationship question before it's a skill question. Who sees it, who compensates for it, who holds you accountable. Executives usually fail by working on a skill gap alone.
Whether every weakness deserves work, I doubt it. Point 10 is the one I'd test first in executive coaching: Does this weakness actually hurt results, or does it just hurt your pride?
Further reading on hofmann.coach: How leaders can do more than play to their strengths · How to develop leadership strengths from weaknesses · Executive Coaching Zurich
Note: The 12 ideas come from the Forbes Coaches Council expert panel "12 Ways Executives Can Turn A Weakness Into A Strength", published 1 April 2022. Contribution no. 8 is my own. My reading of the other eleven is mine, and it isn't a quote of my colleagues' wording.
Cristian Hofmann is an executive coach in Zurich and Schaffhausen (MAS Coaching & Supervision BSO, Forbes contributor). Over more than 20 years he has coached more than 1,500 executives: CEOs, executive boards and leadership teams in Switzerland, with measurably agreed goals and, on request, pay-for-results. More about Cristian Hofmann.
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more
