Today's Question: Why is it Important to Recognize Your Weaknesses?

Because you'll never get past your own limitations if you don't and you will plateau. It's inevitable--for me, my weakness is the having the patience for details. I'm terrible at this--put a spreadsheet in front of me and I zone out; expect me to sit through a 3-hour meeting and you have 60 minutes of interaction and about 120 minutes of unengaged head nodding.

In order to continue to grow as a professional, you have to recognize these weaknesses, and dare I say it, embrace them sometimes. These weaknesses can help you recognize how to surround yourself with the right people--whether they are direct reports, mentors or leaders. You can continue to learn from them. Not everyone can, nor should everyone be the CEO of a company, but by not only capitalizing on your strengths while working on your weaknesses, you can become an integral and invaluable part of a successful team.

Once you shut down and believe you know everything--AND you're exceptional at everything--that's the moment you stop growing...and watch the others pass you by.

Today's Question: Why is it Important to Check Your Ego at the Door?

It seems so simple, but this concept can bite even the brightest person in the butt! Confidence is a quality that is important in any leader, but in the midst of this confidence there must be a sense of humility—otherwise your ego will stop you from being a great leader.

It good to have a reminder of this handed to you every once in a while. Just this week in a state of frustration, I wanted to send off an email to another volunteer explaining that I clearly knew what I was doing since I’m required to do similar tasks for companies much larger than this organization…my ego was bruised and I wanted to lash out—at another volunteer—because I felt that my abilities were questioned.

After calling my friend for counsel, taking a deep breath and waiting about 10 minutes, a cooler head and smaller ego prevailed.

Reflecting on that event, I realized that this happens all too often. I’ve spent personal time, money and resources on my career; I spend my free time learning more about social media, communications and trends; I work during evenings and weekends for my own job as well as those organizations I volunteer with; and I take my work very seriously (even if I don’t take myself seriously)…so how can MY motives be questioned?

I’m not alone; many of us are wired the exact same way. But, don’t let your ego get in the way, you might miss out on a great idea, new opportunity or learning experience—and great leaders don’t let those things pass them by.