Item 5

Item 5

Freak Factor

            David Rendall’s article was definitely a good read for me.  Identifying and eliminating my weaknesses have always been an uphill battle for me.  The first time I was asked to identify my weaknesses was when I was applying for my internship last summer at the Cumulus Radio in Toledo, Ohio.  I never really had to sit down and think about my weaknesses before, and it definitely made me take a step back and look at myself from another perspective.  In Rendall’s article, the first suggestion he listed was, “What’s Your Problem” where he talks about identifying your own weaknesses and lists basic options for self-improvement.  I agree with what he says in this suggestion from top to bottom.  For me personally his suggestion is perfect.  After stepping back and realizing my weaknesses, I needed to fix them while at the same time build my strengths. I found myself however focusing on my weaknesses for the fact that it would make me more successful. He does at the end of the suggestion made note that he thought some of the tactic of fixing your weaknesses can be ineffective, however I can honestly say after noticing my weaknesses, I definitely improved on them and took a step forward towards being a well rounded individual, which improved my ability to work with others such as being in the studio working with others.

            Rendall’s named his third suggestion, “Flawless: There’s Nothing Wrong With You”.  I tried to read this section with an open mind, but I found myself disagreeing with him in some aspects.  What Rendall tries to tell us in this suggestion is that with every weakness comes a strength.  He then lists a number of weaknesses, which reflected with a strength.  For example, the weakness of arrogance also brings self-confidence. The reason I disagree with him in this section is because I believe that the strengths that he lists could lead a person back to their weakness in the first place.  People judge others all the time, and if someone’s impression of you was to arrogance, then the so called strength that comes with it, self-confidence, could be looked at as the weakness in the first place.  I just personally think that in this section, Rendall is trying to make the reader feel better about their weaknesses by listing a positive that comes out of the negative, which isn’t necessarily always true. 

            After really thinking about myself in the eyes of someone else, I realize that one of my main weaknesses would be following and not leading.  I really would prefer to be the leader of a project rather than someone being led.  In my head, I believe that I am skilled and confident enough to gather a team, go in a studio and lead us to a successful piece of work.  I’ve previously found myself getting irritated when I am being told to follow the lead of someone who I think should be following me.  I think Rendall’s suggestions really did help me take more steps in the right direction to improving my weakness.  I see myself being a lot more tolerant to just being another team member, and instead of feel irritated I do my best to give suggestions and find my role to help benefit the team as much as possible.  I even noticed when I was younger being frustrated with something as simple as a group book report if I wasn’t the one in charge.  I didn’t probably realize it at the time, but I know that if I would have just stepped back and discovered what I could have been doing as a team member to benefit our group, then maybe we could have been more successful.  Overall this article really got me to realize more about myself and it helped me discovered ways to better myself as a whole.  Whether or not I’m in the studio or in the field, I’m ready to be an exceptional leader and even a better teammate.