I have had to teach myself - self empathy and self encouragement. I've long been the victim of perfection and I still am very detail oriented but now I also look at things I've done well or doing well. Learning to talk to ourselves is perhaps the most important skills and its not taught in schools or communities - Its something one learns to enhance the confidence over a period of time.
We all know that question of "Tell us your weakness" or "Area of growth opportunity" in an interview - Let me begin by saying everyone has that one area they would like to grow in but that necessarily doesn't have to be a weakness per say - I received a call the other day from a friend who was going through some critical interview discussions and wanted my advice on how best can she answer this question. I asked her what is your weakness?
She began by saying - if I'm being honest its the fact that I can get ticked off with micromanagement - I said sure that makes sense - you are a tenured professional and that's your working style - so I helped her articulate why doesn't she like micromanagement? To which she responded - It's because I can't be creative and feel I have to run everything by my managers and feel stifled over a period of time.... I said okay so do you see how that's not a weakness but your working style that helps you contribute better? She said yea so I said maybe your growth area is to let people in on your creative process and learn to manage other's expectation with your creativity … Maybe its not but its an idea worth exploring - She said I have been struggling with this for so long and thanked me profusely....
Her intention is to help the team and company and the support she needs to do that may or may not be always there because that's life but she can learn to manage it once she is aware of the good intentions and skills
Did I really help her with the answer? Nope.. I just asked intelligent meaningful questions - she came up with everything else...
Authors
Gurleen Dhillon
Canada Career Conversations addresses gaps in career opportunities, stemming from its founder's unconventional entry into talent analytics, her experience at Deloitte, and other major firms. The platform offers career insights, recruitment news, and a podcast featuring industry leaders, advocating for self-defined career paths.
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