It’s a Big Mistake to Use Strengths to Compensate for This Weakness
If you follow my coaching philosophy, you know I have a rather strong opinion about dealing with strengths and weaknesses. There are two rules of thumb I live by when it comes to deciding whether to build strengths or fix weaknesses. The first rule is to spend as little time, energy, and emotion in areas of weakness as possible. The second rule is to not forget rule #1.
This rule of thumb is clear cut. However, just like almost all rules, there is an exception. There is one mistake people commonly make in using their strengths to compensate for a specific type of weakness. This mistake is using their strengths to compensate for a weakness in their fundamentals.
The fundamentals in anything are the basic principles that create the foundation for everything else. The fundamentals are the essential building blocks you simply can’t do without. For example, you can’t become a carpenter or electrician without knowing the fundamentals of math. You can’t be elite in any athletic sport such as football, wrestling, soccer, basketball, tennis, or track without flexibility.
In these examples, both basic math and basic flexibility are skills that come easy for some and for others require intentional practice. This is true for nearly all fundamentals. When someone isn’t naturally gifted in a fundamental, this isn’t an excuse to ignore it.
Fundamentals are just that, fundamental. It’s just a fact everyone must deal with. There is no compensating for a weakness in fundamentals. You simply must buckle down and invest the time and effort it takes to master them if you want to be better than average in any endeavor.