Utilize Our Strengths

Recently I was on a Zoom meeting with an amazing and kind individual who was lamenting that she was not good at a certain skill. The reality was that this skill was already being handled by another teammate who excelled at it. She felt guilty and began to self-shame, but the truth is there was no reason to feel that way. We are not meant to do it all alone. We are meant to operate as a team, knowing our strengths and supporting one another.

This moment reminded me of the toxic environments so many people come from. In those environments people are expected to do everything, even things far outside of their natural abilities, and then ridiculed when they cannot. That is not teamwork. True teamwork is when strengths are combined and weaknesses are covered by someone else’s strength.

I reminded her that she was already succeeding. She was thriving with the help of reminders sent by someone who enjoyed doing that task. She was knocking it out of the park each day. Why should that be a problem? When we leverage strengths across a team, everyone benefits and no one needs to feel ashamed.

The companies I admire most like FastCap, Echelon Front, BuildWit and Elevate Construction are strong because of teams. They have people with vision, people with financial acumen, people who can integrate ideas, and subject matter experts. No one person carries it all. The team does.

Even in my own circle, I have blind spots. I am not the strongest leader or the best at asking probing questions. I am not great at seeing characters or thinking outside of the box. But my teammates Kate and Kevin are exceptional at those things. They dig deep, research, criticize processes, and create innovative ideas. Together we move forward. Should I shame myself for not being good at everything? Absolutely not. Instead I leverage their strengths and they leverage mine.

So how do you actually do this? When you join or form a team, learn what each member is good at and what they bring to the table. This can be done through direct conversations, careful observation or tools like personality profiles. One of the most accurate tools I have seen in business is the cultural index, which helps identify people’s strengths and how they fit into the team.

Once you know what the team needs, fill those gaps. If you need someone strong in finance, find them. If you need a visionary, get one. If marketing and creativity are missing, bring someone in who thrives there. The team is only complete when every important function is balanced by a person who has that strength.

It is also worth remembering that we need both mentors and companions. A mentor shows us the way forward because they have walked that path before. A companion walks with us, bringing complementary skills to cover our weaknesses and encouraging us along the journey. That is the essence of teamwork.

The bottom line is simple. You do not have to be everything, but the team needs to be everything. And when the team has complementary skills, checks the boxes for what the mission requires, and supports one another, there is nothing that cannot be achieved.

So please, if you have been carrying the weight of feeling like you need to do it all, let it go. We win and lose as a team. The power of teamwork lies in utilizing strengths, covering weaknesses, and lifting one another up. That is how we succeed together.

Key Takeaway

I do not need to be good at everything. What matters is that the team has all the strengths it needs and that we rely on one another to succeed.