I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Harvard Business Review article Managing Oneself by Peter F. Drucker. I strongly suggest reading it. Its well worth the price. In it, Peter talks about the importance of finding your strengths as well as weaknesses. It sounds pretty obvious but funny how very few people actually know those things about themselves.

Peter F. Drucker passed away in 2005 after 60 years of consulting career.

I like this quote from him:

“It takes far more energy and work to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence.

And yet most people-especially most teachers and most organizations concentrate on making in-competent performers into mediocre ones. Energy, resources, and time should go instead to making a competent person into a star performer.”

The article suggests finding the answer to a series of questions about yourself to find those strengths and weaknesses. Following are some of them. For the most part they build on each other. Take some time and answer each one. You won’t regret it.

When answering questions below keep in mind that just because you are good at a task or roll doesn’t mean it matches your personality. You can develop skills for a role or task that doesn’t match your personality by simply practicing it enough times.

Are you a reader or listener?

This is harder to answer that it seems. Many people don’t know which one they are or think they are opposite of what their personality really is. This can be because they might have been reading or listening most of their life/career and never really spent time on the other to know their true strengths.

Following are some good reads and resources that can help you figure out which one you are:

• Reader or Listener
• Reader or Listener – Oral? Composition ($30.0 article)

How do you learn?

Here are few questionnaires that might help you find the answer to this question:

• Learning Style Inventory (+)
• How do I? learn best
• Learning Style Quiz (+)
• Learning Style Self Assessment

Do you work well with people or are you a loner? If with people, in what relationship?

Most people probably work well with people. The main question is the relationship that you work best under. Manager to employee? Employee to employer? Subordinate or commander?

Do you produce results as a decision maker or as an adviser?

What are your values?

This is not a question of ethics but rather just values. There are not wrong or right values but ones that we want to see ourselves as.   This is an important question to answer so put some thought into it. The Living Your Values article is a good read to help you put together your list of values in order.? even though I don’t particularly agree with the author’s final thoughts.

Where do you belong?

For example do you belong in a large organization? a small one? Knowing the answers to the above questions of what are my strengths? How do I perform? and. What are my values? will help you find the answer to this question much easier.

What should you contribute?

Instead of trying to explain this question I’ll use a quote from the article:

“… the question in most cases should be. Where and how can I achieve results that will make a difference within the next year and a half? The answer must balance several things. First, the results should be hard to achieve-they should require “stretching,” to use the current buzzword. … Second, the results should be meaningful. They should make a difference. Finally, results should be visible and, if at all possible, measurable”

What is your Responsibility in your relationships?

Your answer to this question enables you to talk to your boss / employees and tell them:

“This is how I work. These are my values. This is the contribution I plan to concentrate on and the results I should be expected to deliver.”

You can answer the questions above by trying to analyze yourself, ask your friends, or seek help from professional executive coaches. I actually used all of them.

How Can These Questions Help You?

Write down the answer to the above questions on a piece of paper. Once you see all the answers together you find interesting facts about yourself that you had no idea about. This can help better manage your tasks and plan your future.

Tags: HBR

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