Most organisations know people’s weaknesses better than their strengths.
I know because I sat in many performance reviews over three decades.
The conversation almost always went the same way. What needs fixing. The competency gap. The development plan. Another area to work on.
Rarely did anyone ask: what is this person already exceptional at?
I made this mistake myself.
Early in my career I believed leadership meant becoming competent at everything. Every appraisal highlighted another area to improve. Another book to read. Another weakness to address.
I became better. But I didn’t become more effective.
The biggest gains in my career didn’t come from fixing weaknesses. They came from recognising the few things I could do exceptionally well — and putting myself in situations where those strengths mattered most.
The best people I hired weren’t complete
When I look back at the best people I ever hired or worked with, none of them were complete.
Some were terrible at detail. Some hated administration. Some weren’t natural presenters. Some struggled with conflict.
But the best organisations stopped trying to turn them into somebody else.
Instead they built teams where strengths complemented one another.
Leadership isn’t about creating perfect people.
It’s about creating complete teams.
The question that changed how I coached
One of the questions I started asking managers I coached was simple:
Who on your team finishes the day with more energy than they started?
That question almost always revealed where people’s strengths actually lived.
Strengths create energy. Weaknesses consume it.
When someone is working in their area of genuine strength they are not just more productive. They are more engaged, more creative, more resilient under pressure, and more likely to bring others with them.
When someone is constantly working against their natural grain — trying to be something they are not — the energy cost is enormous. And it shows. In their performance, in their mood, in the culture around them.
My biggest hiring mistakes
Looking back, my biggest hiring mistakes weren’t about capability. The interview was good. The CV was strong. The experience matched.
The strengths didn’t.
I put talented people into roles that demanded strengths they simply didn’t possess. And no amount of development or support fully closed that gap — because you cannot coach someone into a fundamentally different person.
The lesson I eventually learned: hire for strengths first. Build the team around what people do exceptionally well. Then manage the gaps collectively rather than individually.
Promotion isn’t always development
I’ve also seen brilliant salespeople become average managers. Not because they got worse. Because we promoted them into jobs that required completely different strengths.
Brilliant engineers became frustrated executives. Technical experts became poor leaders. Not because they lacked intelligence or commitment — but because we moved them away from where they naturally performed best and called it a reward.
Promotion isn’t always development.
Sometimes it’s simply moving someone away from where they create their greatest value.
What this means for leaders
Great leaders don’t need all the answers. They need enough self-awareness to know where their own strengths lie — and enough humility to build around the strengths of others.
That is not weakness.
That is maturity.
Over the years I’ve become less interested in helping leaders become better at everything. I’m far more interested in helping them become exceptional at the things that matter most.
Businesses don’t grow when everyone becomes slightly better.
They grow when people understand where they create their greatest value — and are given the opportunity to do more of it.
Strength is the last of the five foundations I am building Intention around. Not fixing what is weak. Identifying and developing what is genuinely strong — in yourself and in the people you lead.