What is Your Greatest Weakness?

Examining your weaknesses or failures can be a painful process. I tend to immerse myself in it and rarely do I see beyond the outcome. I merely relive it. Rare is the man who can examine his own short-comings with any measure of competence. Perhaps that is why the question, “What is your greatest weakness?” continues to be a vital part of the interview process. In five words there are two distinct activities required; examination and evaluation.

Knowing your own Achilles’ weakness is one thing, demonstrating how you have overcome the short-coming or minimized its impact is what makes the question important. There are many experts on the art of the interview. They will tell you, when asked this question, “Pick something that is not within the scope of the responsibilities for the position at hand, so as to reduce the likelihood that your self-disclosed weakness will impact the interview.” I say, “Hooey!” I say address the question head-on, let them know you are addressing the question head-on. “…As it relates to this job, I would say that my weakness falls in (name it).” Then address how you plan to overcome that deficiency. They likely already see weakness from your resume, especially when it’s the number of years of experience, lack of professional qualification, PMP, CISSP, etc., which a great many veterans face as they enter the civilian work force.

For me, it’s getting started. I can see sixteen different approaches to the same problem; cascade my way through dozens of permutation, the more I examine the situation the harder it is for me to start. Engaging is always the most difficult hurtle for me to cross. I try to overcome this by applying what I learned as a Staff Officer.

Military Staff Officers face this all the time. Getting approval from higher-authority to engage is very similar to the problem I face in my own head. Staff Officers are taught to get approval to commence an activity by first stating the problem and then providing two or three reasonable Course of Action (COAs). Each with its own Pros and Cons, and when provided without a particular bias, the exercise usually yields a solid plan. I force myself act as my own staff officer, prepare several COAs and then ask myself to make a decision. Better yet, I require myself to make a decision – because I can do that, I am after all, my boss.

Self-appraisal, as I have done by identifying a particular frailty and then assigning it as most or greatest, is also a difficult task and is ripe with bias. By assigning a value to a particular short-coming infers that I have a whole host of weaknesses of which I have measured. Truth is… there are many of I have not evaluated at all. More Truth, my wife would likely share with you a list that I have yet to consider.

There is a resilience and maturity that comes from examining one’s losses and failures that is rarely gained when you are standing at the top of the podium.

The most important thing in life is not to capitalize on your gains. Any fool can do that. The really important thing is to profit from your losses. That requires intelligence; and it makes the difference between a man of sense and a fool.
- William Bolitho