SWOT

Example of a Personal Leadership SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis
(rev 2008)
Strengths
• Compulsive
• Strong follow-through
• Articulate
• Writes well
• Balanced work-life perspective
• Multi-interested (e.g., work, recreational activities [e.g., curling, golf, etc.])
• Ambitious
Weaknesses
• Strong need to “get things done and off my list” with consequence of getting it done right
away, thereby undermining the benefits of more careful deliberation over time
• Compulsiveness sometimes causes me to begrudge being given tasks, i.e., stress of many
tasks and need to do each carefully can lead me to think unkindly about the people and/or
circumstance creating the task
• Can be impatient, i.e., not tolerate those who do not understand (“suffer fools poorly”)
• Time pressure causes stress and can lead to emotional “hijacking”
• Do not handle multiple immediately competing demands well
Opportunities
• To engage others in providing feedback about their experience of me
• To receive coaching in service of improving my leadership skills
• To learn from others in similar roles to mine
• To enhance my ability to manage the need to complete task quickly in order to be able to
deliberate more carefully
• To enhance my equanimity about work-related tasks
Threats
• Time pressure, which can derail my plan for self-improvement because it catapults me
back to my “usual” habits
• The multitude of everyday demands, which conspires against self-reflection
• Etc.

example 2

Weaknesses

• What tasks do you usually avoid because you don't feel confident doing them?
• What will the people around you see as your weaknesses?
• Are you completely confident in your education and skills training? If not, where are you weakest?
• What are your negative work habits (for example, are you often late, are you disorganized, do you have a short temper, or are you poor at handling stress)?
• Do you have personality traits that hold you back in your field? For instance, if you have to conduct meetings on a regular basis, a fear of public speaking would be a major weakness.

Again, consider this from a personal/internal perspective and an external perspective. Do other people see weaknesses that you don't see? Do co-workers consistently outperform you in key areas? Be realistic – it's best to face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible.

Opportunities

• What new technology can help you? Or can you get help from others or from people via the Internet?
• Is your industry growing? If so, how can you take advantage of the current market?
• Do you have a network of strategic contacts to help you, or offer good advice?
• What trends (management or otherwise) do you see in your company, and how can you take advantage of them?
• Are any of your competitors failing to do something important? If so, can you take advantage of their mistakes?
• Is there a need in your company or industry that no one is filling?
• Do your customers or vendors complain about something in your company? If so, could you create an opportunity by offering a solution?

You might find useful opportunities in the following:

• Networking events, educational classes, or conferences.
• A colleague going on an extended leave. Could you take on some of this person's projects to gain experience?
• A new role or project that forces you to learn new skills, like public speaking or international relations.
• A company expansion or acquisition. Do you have specific skills (like a second language) that could help with the process?

Also, importantly, look at your strengths, and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities – and look at your weaknesses, and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating those weaknesses.

Threats

• What obstacles do you currently face at work?
• Are any of your colleagues competing with you for projects or roles?
• Is your job (or the demand for the things you do) changing?
• Does changing technology threaten your position?
• Could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?

Performing this analysis will often provide key information – it can point out what needs to be done and put problems into perspective.

A Personal SWOT Example

What would a personal SWOT assessment look like? Review this SWOT analysis for Carol, an advertising manager.

Strengths

• I'm very creative. I often impressing clients with a new perspective on their brands.
• I communicate well with my clients and team.
• I have the ability to ask key questions to find just the right marketing angle.
• I'm completely committed to the success of a client's brand.

Weaknesses

• I have a strong, compulsive need to do things quickly and remove them from my "to do" list, and sometimes the quality of my work suffers as a result.
• This same need to get things done also causes me stress when I have too many tasks.
• I get nervous when presenting ideas to clients, and this fear of public speaking often takes the passion out of my presentations.

Opportunities

• One of our major competitors has developed a reputation for treating their smaller clients poorly.
• I'm attending a major marketing conference next month. This will allow for strategic networking, and also offer some great training seminars.
• Our art director will go on maternity leave soon. Covering her duties while she's away would be a great career development opportunity for me.

Threats

• Simon, one of my colleagues, is a much stronger speaker than I am, and he's competing with me for the art director position.
• Due to recent staff shortages, I'm often overworked, and this negatively impacts my creativity.
• The current economic climate has resulted in slow growth for the marketing industry. Many firms have laid off staff members, and our company is considering further cutbacks.

As a result of performing this analysis, Carol takes the bold step of approaching her colleague Simon about the art director's maternity leave. Carol proposes that both she and Simon cover the job's duties, working together and each using his or her strengths. To her surprise, Simon likes the idea. He knows he presents very well, but he admits that he's usually impressed by Carol's creative ideas, which he feels are far better than most of his.

By working as a team, they have a chance to make their smaller clients feel even better about the service they're getting. This takes advantage of their competitor's weakness in this area.

Strengths:

·         I am a very confident person.

·         I work hard to compete the task set

·         Being patient.

·         Always willing to help someone learn.

·         Good attendance

·         Great at putting out my ideas

·         I do not avoid problems that I am nervous about doing because I have a “I’ll give it a go” attitude.

·         Good sence of humour.

·         Will not complain is the going gets tough

·         Spotting things that others don’t.

·         I am creative

Weaknesses:

·         Can be an over powering personality that makes people nervous around me or makes the uncomfortable.

·         I am forgetful at times which puts me behind on work, this can also lead to me getting a little wound up which gives a distant attitude.

·         Misunderstand people.

·         Can hold a grudge for a long time.

·         Not very good with time management

·         Can be lazy

·         I am unable to write to the level of detail my pers show

·         I can get stuck on a single topic and not able to move on.

·         I am sometimes straight with people without thinking if it will affect the negatively.

·         Not willing to admits faults strength off

·         Trying to put my input in when it is not needed

·         Repeats myself to much

·         Jealousy

·         Overly trusting when I know I shouldn’t be
 
      Opportunities:

·         Interacting with others in an environment that are interested in the same kind of things.

·         To create work to a high standard

Threats:

·         One of the biggest threats I have is if somebody adds to my work load that I have not accounted for, because of this I become stressed and begin to worry that I won’t get the first piece of work done in time as I believe I’ve got more to do than is actually there.

·         Thinking that other people are talking about me behind my back or that people are being two faced and they don’t actually like me.

·         Memes are a threat to my concentration as they make me lose track of time