There are about a million different personality evaluation tools, and it’s not surprising that one called “Strength Finder” is focused on maximizing strengths rather than minimizing weaknesses. In fact, my first exposure to methodology seemed to go as far as to suggest that minimizing weaknesses is ultimately futile; it’s “damage control” rather than an effective tactic.
Now, some of this is, I think, just nomenclature; I don’t think that the methodology intends to suggest that, if “being late” is a weakness, you should just ignore it and focus on one of your strengths. In their eyes, a “strength” is an inherent talent and a description of a particular natural tendency which ought to be value-neutral. A “weakness” is simply a non-strength, or non-tendency.
As an aside, I think that using “strength” as that descriptor is inherently flawed, as is “weakness”. But then again, I don’t have a multi-million-dollar self-analysis framework.
So, let’s redefine in a way that makes more sense. Instead of “strengths,” you have natural tendencies. Instead of “weaknesses” you have non-tendencies. Some people are naturally competitive and some aren’t. Some are naturally focused, and some aren’t.
This doesn’t mean that a person who is not naturally competitive cannot compete. But, it may require more effort, and they may never be as successful in a highly-competitive environment as someone with the tendency.
Activities and learned skills may draw from these natural tendencies, but they are not absolutely dependent on them. For example, you probably need to be organized in your job. A person with the “discipline” tendency might find this to be easy. But if you are “competitive,” you might try use your natural tendency to compete to as a way to organize your life “better” than somebody else. As a “learner,” you might try to learn about effective organizational methodologies.
In your job, you might find yourself in a situation that requires a skill that seems at odds with your natural tendencies. You’ve got two solutions: the first is to take the tactic above, and try to figure out how to leverage your natural tendency in a creative way to accomplish your goal.
The second is to get a job that doesn’t require that skill.
Bottom line: success boils down to recognizing your natural tendencies and figuring out a way to leverage them to do what needs doing. In other words, know your audience, even when the audience is you.