weakness as strength: the power of compensation

In his book "David and Goliath," Malcolm Gladwell writes about leveraging the unconventional, and the surprising success of the underdog. In one chapter, he recounts the struggles and stories of several people with dyslexia who eventually became extremely successful presidents and CEOs of major corporations. Although it appeared these individuals were headed for a mediocre life, somehow they were able to channel their abilities into wild success by any standard.

So what happened?

Each story had a common thread: the person who grew up struggling mightily with reading, comprehension, school and learning ended up developing extremely strong skills in other areas to compensate for what they lacked. Similar to how a blind person may develop highly sensitive hearing, those with dyslexia often learned to be incredible listeners with spectacular memories, or brilliant strategists because in their early years, they had to learn how to pass tests and get through school when simply reading was a struggle.

Gladwell stated that at one conference, when a speaker asked a room full of CEOs and top executives how many of them had ever been diagnosed with a learning disorder, over 50% raised their hands. It doesn't take a social scientist to see there is a strong correlation here.

I grew up an extremely shy, awkward, socially inept child and teenager, struggling with even the most simple social interactions, group settings, or any possibility of being put on the spot.

And now, I am a senior in college, finishing my Bachelor's degree in communication and public relations. I work as a paralegal where I converse and communicate with clients and attorneys all day, every day. In my close circles of friends, I'm usually the goofy, silly one who never stops talking. I love communicating.

So what happened?

Compensation.

At some point, I became aware that I would need to compensate for my intense shyness and the way I accomplished that was through learning to express myself and develop a more forceful personality. Although I am still introverted by nature and often experience intense social anxiety, I have learned in many ways how to compensate for that.

This is such an interesting aspect to see play out in the professional world.

How have you compensated for your own individual struggles or shortcomings, and how has that impacted your career?