It’s playoff season for the NFL and yet again the beloved Philadelphia Eagles are watching from the sidelines—sorry Philly fans! My 10-year-old son, Patrick, is a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan and fortunately for him, they historically fare a bit better in postseason play.

One of Patrick’s favorite players is Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. When we think about a quarterback preparing for his next game, would we want him spending the week working on becoming a better kicker? I’m quite certain we’d much rather see our favorite QB working hard on the things that make him a professional in the NFL—perfecting those things that he already does well and leaving the kicking to the talented kickers.

I recently heard a presentation by Andy Stanley where he described the “well-rounded myth”—an illusive belief that in order to be successful we must become well-rounded individuals and organizations. When we buy into this notion, we often spend time, energy and money on improving our weaknesses and inadvertently neglect to strengthen the things we already do well.

However, when we work on developing, advancing and refining our areas of strength, we can have a much greater impact on those we influence every day.

To work on our strengths, we must first know what they are. I have found the following resources helpful when identifying assets, talents and gifts:

• DiSC Behavioral Profile—a tool that determines your preferred work environment and ways of behaving
• StrengthsFinder 2.0—a tool that helps you discover your top five talents
• 360 Leadership Feedback Survey—an online evaluation created and customized by North Group that delivers feedback from those who experience your leadership on a daily basis

While I think we’d all agree that working on our weaknesses is valuable, improving our areas of strength can be a differentiator, the thing that sets us and our organizations apart.