The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

174 / KNOWING YOURSELF

Analyzing your strengths

and limitations

Describing your capabilities

When you ask yourself what you

are really good at, your answer

should encompass three important

areas—your basic technical

ability, your innate personal

or soft, skills, and the knowledge

and experience that you have

acquired throughout your career.

Most people have a preference

for what they like to do. Some people

are good at working with numbers,

while others excel at languages.

These skills are the building blocks

of your job—they are sometimes

called your basic technical ability.

Gaining skills and experience

“Soft” skills are less tangible than basic

technical ability. You may be a good

listener or a powerful communicator,

or have the ability to influence people or

negotiate well, or you may command

respect, have great presence, and be

highly motivated. You need to achieve

a certain level of skill in all these areas,

but that level will depend on your precise

role in the organization.

The third dimension of your personal

strengths and limitations is your

knowledge and experience, both of the

sector and the role in which you work.

For example, if you work in Human

Resources, do you have sufficient

knowledge of employment law? Reflect

on your skills and knowledge: they may

be good enough for your current role,

but will they suffice in the future? Try

to identify the role that best fits with

your ambitions, and ask yourself what

skills you will need to fit that role.

Published job descriptions and job

advertisements provide a good guide

to current industry standards and

what employers are looking for. Set

about gaining those skills through

additional training, or by realigning

your role with your current employer.

To achieve high performance in your workplace, you need to understand

and play to your strengths. You also need to recognize what you are less

good at doing, so that you can develop appropriate skills and acquire the

necessary knowledge and experience.

REVIEW YOUR SKILLS

Even if you plan to stay in

the same job, look closely at

what’s happening around you.

Your work environment is in

flux and you should constantly

be learning and adapting, to

cope and thrive with the new

circumstances your workplace

presents to you.

Tip

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