A private person living a public life.

Being a leader is kind of awkward in some ways.  People are always watching you.  Some talk, and some gossip.

They expect you to be perfect, and some, who are not your friends, like to point out when you stumble.

People don’t talk about the weaknesses of the guy at the bottom of the totem pole.  They talk about the weaknesses of the guy at the top.

While you may be pretty good at being the leader of your company, they expect  you to be great at everything.  And we know that people with deep strengths may have deep weaknesses.  They are not balanced.  That’s why they got so good at doing what they are doing.

You may be a great leader of an accounting firm, but you can’t dribble a basketball.

You may know how to lead a team, but your kids (or spouse) don’t listen to a word you say.

You may be a good marketer, but you have to call someone to fix a doorknob.

How you handle these things is up to you.  For most leaders, it’s probably best not to parade your personal life all over the place.  Keep work and home separate.  

Further, don’t hide anything. If a weakness is exposed via some event, admit it and don’t take yourself too seriously.  If you’re not embarrassed by it, others will gossip less.

At work, you may have some strengths and some weaknesses.  Here’s a secret – other people already know.

Don’t try to fake it or you will hurt your company.  Hire people with the strengths you lack and let them do that part of the job.  

You have to lead yourself first. 

If you can do that well, the rest will turn out just fine.