There’s only one thing that cripples Superman. You know what it is. It’s not evil; it’s not enemies. It’s kyrptonite. In a similar way, there’s also one thing that cripples you. It cripples me. I call it “Corporate Kryptonite.” It drains exceptional executives, great businessmen, and awesome employees of their innate strengths. Whether at our headquarters or just in our head, this cruel kryptonite disarms all of us of our inborn gifts. It disables our inherent talents. It debilitates our intrinsic best abilities.What is it?
Very simply, the professional preoccupation with one’s weaknesses is the crippling kryptonite that keeps us weak at work. I see it over and over again in my Life Coaching practice. Well-meaning entrepreneurs keep trying to improve themselves by focusing on their worst attributes. To make matters worse, they challenge their staff teams to labor at improving their weaknesses. Weaknesses should be managed, not majored on!
Comic book lore tells us that the Man of Steel can save you. He can save me. Heck, he can save the whole world. Yet, when exposed to kryptonite, he can’t even save himself. Somehow that radioactive green stuff is the one thing that completely neutralizes, paralyzes, and incapacitates the red-caped hero.
Want a quick and easy way to sap your strength? Focus on your weaknesses. You’ll be demoralized faster than as a speeding bullet.
In the DC universe, kyptonite was introduced back in 1943 to humanize Superman—to make him more like us. And in this way, he certainly is more like us. We all have an Achilles’ heel. We all have weaknesses. We all have things that render us useless. I certainly do.
For Superman to remain more powerful than a locomotive and to be able to jump tall buildings in a single bound, he has to avoid kryptonite. For you to remain your best super self, you too need to avoid obsessing on your weaknesses. Focus on your strengths. For you to keep your enterprise workforce performing at their super best, focus on their strengths.
Kryptonite crippled Superman. Focusing on weaknesses cripples us. So stick out your chest a bit, rip open that Clark Kent white dress shirt, and reveal your “S” for STRENGTHS!