Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence: Best Practices, Case Studies, and Strategies

4.3. HOW TO EXPLORE STRENGTHS AS WEAKNESSES

As consultants, when we are faced with an enhanced skill—such as enhanced optimism—we should check to see if a complementary skill is effectively present. We should then also explore with our client whether this strength brings with it a weakness by asking the costs of that skill. That is, when a client scores very high on Optimism, we first explore the presence of this strength by asking for real-world examples: "This instrument says that you have an abundance of optimism. Is this accurate?" If the client agrees, then we should not take this answer at face value, but rather ask for real-world examples, where he or she used optimism with a successful outcome.

Then we might ask, "Tell me about the costs ...