As team members of any kind, we know that not one of us is perfect--we all bring our flaws to any team we serve. And we bring our strengths too.
This occurred to me recently when I needed a colleague's strengths--strengths that I value in this colleague and strengths that are not my own. As I consulted the colleague, I thought about our need to support and bring out the best in each other. We need to acknowledge each others strengths and then work so that we maximize those strengths while also mitigating the weaknesses.
I thought of a related issue where an individual relied on an area of weakness rather than strength in a situation. This individual, either unaware or uncaring about a weak area, forwarded that with strength. It did not serve the individual or anyone else well. That makes me wonder how we can be best aware of our weak areas, work to strengthen those areas, and not put those areas of our lives on display, but instead rely on others to help us out in those areas.
In any team, good team members are always imperfectly important--we bring our imperfect selves and our importance too, and the key is to maximize what we can do on our own and together despite our areas of challenge.
As I work to grow team at home, in the classroom, and at school, I'm thinking about that just-right balance of our strengths and challenges alone and together. What are the mechanisms that help us to bring forth our strengths while mitigating our weaknesses and challenges?
