My most popular articles are ones where I talk about getting injured. People love hearing about my pain.

Thank you for your interest.

I’ll throw you another bone:

I was injured a month ago while practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I tore my hip adductors. I tried to train through it. But eventually had to drop out of a tournament I was looking forward to.

I tried to keep training through it. But each class just seemed to re-aggravate the injury.

Finally, I realized I just needed to stop. Or at least significantly dial back my training. I couldn’t “out-tough” the injury.

Recently, after class, I was discussing injuries with my instructor. He’s an experienced black belt.

He started to discuss his own injuries. His reflections went along these lines:

“Most of my injuries have been a result of being strong. Not weak.

When I knew something bad was going to happen, I tried to muscle through it. Because I could. Because of ego. I did that instead of making better decisions or thinking ahead.

My muscular strength was greater than the strength of my cartilage or ligaments. So, I pushed hard enough to hurt myself.

I hurt myself more than my opponents hurt me.”

I’ve been involved in athletics most of my life. In fact, for over ten years I’ve been a strength and conditioning instructor.

As I thought about what he said, I realized how almost all injuries I’ve seen and experienced have been self-inflicted.

Usually from trying too hard.

Leaders Need to Be Careful About Relying on Their Strengths

Leaders have strengths. We all do.

Maybe yours is charisma. Or having a strategic mind.

Perhaps you are particularly caring. Or have a sharp financial sense.

You could have years of experience or significant technical expertise.

It could be that you know how to just knuckle down and work real, real hard.

Your Strengths May Be Holding You (Or Your Team) Back

It is natural to use and rely on our own strengths. After all, they work.

But no matter how strong we are in any particular area – there is a limit.

If we build a team or organization on our strengths, we hit that limit far earlier than we should.

In athletics, overreliance on strength creates problems. For leaders the corollary is clear:

• They gas out. They fatigue. They can’t go the distance.
• They plateau. They hit a ceiling. They stop experiencing growth.
• They have injuries or issues. Key staff won’t step up or speak up. Key staff leave the work to you or leave altogether. Conflict. Frustration. Chronic, unresolved issues.

This is usually most apparent when a leader is considering a significant change, experiencing fast growth or an exit from their organization.

It’s at these times where, in the words of Marshall Goldsmith, “What got you here – won’t get you there.”

This becomes starkly evident. The leader never built strength within the organization. Success, so far, was all about his or her own strength and abilities.

When the rules change, those strengths and abilities are maxed out. The leader either tires or plateaus and begins to resist change or some kind of injury occurs.

How to Operate Outside of Our Strengths

The number one mindset shift, that most leaders struggle with, is accepting that success isn’t about them.

In athletics, this means learning to move smarter.

In leadership, this also means learning to lead smarter. This is more about accessing the smarts and strengths of everyone else as opposed to showcasing our own.

It’s not about your strength, confidence or abilities.

It’s about the people you lead.

The better we become at letting go of our egos, of needing to be the hero, or our fear of failure or whatever it is that so commonly drives leadership – the more we can focus on helping our teams succeed.

Our success is best reflected when they succeed.

It’s just that it feels like it will take so long, or that it won’t happen to our standards or…we’re afraid we won’t get the credit.

Lest You Think I’m Only Writing to The Strong

I somehow ended up on the personal e-mail list of a leader I’ve met but don’t know. He sends out mass e-mails occasionally.

He recently shared how he’s being considered for executive leadership in an organization much larger than what he is used to.

His comment was, “The position is larger than what I deserve.”

He’s probably right.

His first issue is that he is looking at his own strength. And seeing a deficit.

He’s not looking at the strengths of the team he’ll be working with or able to build. If he did this, he’d probably see the potential.

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the people who seem to progress the fastest seem to be the smallest people. This was true in rock climbing as well.

It’s harder for them in the beginning. Because they don’t have the natural advantages of strength.

But precisely because they couldn’t rely on what came easiest to them, they had to learn to really learn. And so, they grow.

The writer of the e-mail above will do fine if he learns to work with and support the strengths of this team.

But he’ll struggle and likely fail if he continues to believe his leadership success is about his own strengths.

But Shouldn’t I Work Through My Strengths?

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not opposed to leaders having, building or using their strengths.

But we all need to be more aware that we tend to be of this: Our strengths will only get us so far and then they’ll hold us back.

I recently read an article about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu suggesting that for the first two ranks (which is usually the first 4 – 6 years of training in the sport) practitioners should try to never use more than 50% of their strength.

If a move won’t work with skill and they are trying to muscle through, they are probably doing something wrong or missing something.

Instead, they should focus on growing the basic skills and techniques.

Then, once those are in place, they can fully exercise their strength through skill or technique.

I think there is a translation to leadership as well.

Leaders, particularly new leaders or ones who’ve missed this step, should learn to dial back on what most naturally produces success for them.

Instead, they should focus on leadership skill and technique development. Specifically, those things that naturally produces success and growth from those they lead.

• A charismatic leader may need to take the time to learn about building systems.
• A quick-thinking, insightful leader may need to take time learning patience and listening and collaboration skills.
• A leader with technical expertise (an engineer, a doctor, an attorney, etc.) may need to learn how to run engaging meetings and how to think strategically.

What Can I Do?

The best athletes learn from others. They surround themselves with others who can help them.

The best way to learn to grow through or past your strengths is to do the same. Here are some ideas:

• Surround yourself with people who perform at a higher level than you do – in the particular area you want to grow in.
• Be open to listening and considering feedback from others.
• Immerse yourself in podcasts or books reflecting the thoughts of others who have more leadership skill.
• Always have a mentor or coach (they might be friends, or they might be professionals) who can “spot” you and help you improve your technique.

Most of all: Don’t rely on yourself to figure it out.

Leaders receive a lot of attention. They can seem alone, aloof and independent. But leadership is a relationship. It is inextricably tied to others.

But we really have only succeeded when those we lead have succeeded.

We also really can only grow by surrounding ourselves with others who can help us.

What next step can you take to grow beyond your strengths?

Take good care,

Christian