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iQuestions Faculty, Ron Price 
 
 
Question: 
 
How can I improve my performance in areas where I'm weak? 
 
Answer: 
 
A lot of times people ask me, “How do I fix a weakness? How do I get 
better in this area that I’m not so good at, and I know I’m not good at 
it?” I usually respond to the first question with, “Well, why do you 
know you need to fix it?”  
 
As a matter of fact, oftentimes the best strategy for an area of 
weakness is to ignore it.  
 
When you say ignore it—in order to know if you can do that or not—
you have to ask yourself, “Is this weakness relevant to my 
performance in my job?” If it is, then we go to the next question. The 
next question is, “Can I delegate it away? Can I get somebody else to 
help me in this area?” 
 
I’ve got to confess that I’m terrible at filing. I’m not a good organizer 
of things. For years I tried to fix it, and I finally decided it wasn’t my 
job. I needed to get somebody else to help me do the filing, and I’ve 
done that now and it gives me the time that I can focus on the things 
I’m best at doing.  
 
And really that’s your best return on investment: to work on 
developing the things you’re already good at, instead of focusing on 
fixing a weakness.  
 
 
 
Having said that, there are times when you have no choice. The job is 
requiring that you fix a weakness. If that’s the case, then you put 
together a development plan, by defining exactly what it is that you 
need to fix and coming up with ways that you can develop that area.  
 
Maybe it’s taking a class, or reading a book, or working with a mentor, 
but you come up with a strategy for how to develop that area, and 
then build accountability into the system where you’re going to go 
back and work and look at the results you’ve focused over time.  
 
Eventually, you can develop a weakness, at least to bring it up to a 
point of neutrality. You’ll probably never turn it into a strength, but 
you can eliminate it as what we would call a “fatal flaw” that can keep 
you from performing at a superior level in your job. 
Price -2- 
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