personal SWOT analysis: Weaknesses

In a previous post, I talked about the strengths portion of the personal SWOT analysis . It’s fun to think about your strengths. But it’s necessary to also think about your weaknesses. Remember, strengths and weaknesses are meant to be internal examinations. We’re not looking at advantages and disadvantages presented by your environment, we’re looking at ourselves. So questions for personal weaknesses include things like, What do I really not like doing? What do I always avoid? What have I failed at? But also, what limitations do I have - in terms of family obligations, or financial obligations. If you have a young family, or a child with a disability, or you have to care for an elderly parent, those are limitations. If you have very high debt for whatever reason - maybe school debt, house debt, hopefully not consumer debt - then you are going to be limited in your choices. 

Some weaknesses pass with time - children get older and more self-sufficient. Some weaknesses can be worked on - like debt. Some weaknesses can also be worked on by putting in an effort to grow. Some weaknesses are worth putting a great deal of effort into if the hamper your life. Mental health challenges are a good example. You might need to build a life around those challenges. 

While I was pursuing tenure, I gave a lot of thought to my strengths and weaknesses. I came to UNH with a strong track record in teaching and service, but I had done little to establish myself as a researcher, and to make matters worse, my research was in history of political economy, which is at best tangential to the focus of my current department. So coming to UNH, I felt my teaching was a strength, and my research was a weakness. I had to have some success in my research, and I pushed hard to do so, but it cost me a lot. Teaching and service came much more naturally to me, and that is where my real contributions to my department were and continue to be. I thought about my approach like a battlefield commander - you shore up as best you can your weak points, and you shape the battle as much as possible to fight from your strengths. Likewise, I put enough effort into my weaknesses to satisfice, and poured most of my efforts where I was strong. As Gail Golden talks about, success requires making choices. You have to choose where you will be just mediocre so that you can reserve your real efforts for where you want to excel. If you have a weakness, you can’t let it sink you, but you probably will never be great. So just shoot for mediocre where you are weak, and save your effort for where you are strong. 

So now make a list of your weaknesses, and where you are going to accept mediocrity. Let’s talk about opportunities and threats next time!