by Dan Oswald
As a manager, you’re tasked with finding and evaluating talent. You need to know which people will fit on your team. You must determine who has the right skill set to make the necessary contributions. And you must decide what blend of talent and personalities will allow the team to achieve its goals. No easy job, for sure.
It takes trial and error to get it right. Nobody—absolutely nobody—gets it right the first time. It’s impossible to pick the perfect cast of characters necessary to achieve success on the first try. It takes firsthand experience to see how the team members will work together and react to one another. The team must be put in real-life situations before you can see how they will perform as a unit. And as the business evolves, so must the team chosen to navigate its ebbs and flows. No team is perfectly suited for all circumstances, and as they change, so must the team.
But as important as it is as a manager to be able to understand people and evaluate talent, there’s another key to a successful team. That key is how well you, the leader, know yourself. Basketball great Jerry West once said, “My life has been about trying to figure out my limitations, and I know them quite well. Once you find out what they are, it really gives you a chance to find your niche.”
So I ask you, how well do you know yourself?
Most people, when asked that question, will respond confidently (and without much thought) that they know themselves quite well. And it goes to reason who could possibly not know who they are? You’re the only one who is with you 100 percent of the time. You’re the only one who knows every experience you’ve had. You’re the only one who is privy to your innermost thoughts.
Yet truly knowing oneself takes a great deal of self-examination and honesty. Most of us, when asked to evaluate ourselves, go immediately to what we’re good at. We’re proud of our strengths, our successes, our accomplishments—and for good reason. But read West’s quote again. He says his life has been about trying to figure out his limitations. He goes on to say that the knowledge of those limitations “gives you a chance to find your niche.” He doesn’t talk about strengths; he talks about limitations.
That is what is so hard for people. It’s not fun to dwell on your shortcomings. It’s difficult to think about your limitations. But once you know them as well as you know your strengths, you truly know yourself. Getting to that point takes a tremendous amount of introspection, self-evaluation, and honesty. It means putting your ego aside and truly evaluating who you are, what you are capable of, and what you are not.
I ask you again, how well do you know yourself? Do you know what your limitations are? To lead a team, you need to know not only what you’re good at but also what you’re not good at. You need to surround yourself with others who have strengths where you have weaknesses. You need people on your team who excel in areas where you do not. You need colleagues who know your limitations so that they can make contributions that offset your shortcomings.
If you’re unwilling to admit any weakness—if you cannot see your own limitations—then your ability to lead will be greatly hampered. Finding and evaluating talent are key skills for any manager, but I would argue that knowing yourself—both your strengths and your weaknesses—is even more critical to your success. I challenge you to look beyond the surface, to consider not only what you excel at but also the things that hold you back. It is there that you will discover what talents you must surround yourself with for your team to succeed.