My company requires an annual performance review for each employee. As part of the review, my manager is asked to identify my weaknesses (or "developmental opportunities," as the company refers to them). Should my manager jettison focusing on weaknesses altogether during these reviews and focus on only my strengths?

During a performance review, you and your manager should focus most of your time on how you can build and apply your strengths in your role. A strength is a combination of talents, skills, and knowledge that can be productively applied, so, in practical terms, strength-building requires that you and your manager do three things: First, identify your most powerful talents and ensure that your job expectations match these talents. Some people call this "job-sculpting." Second, identify the role-specific skills or knowledge that you must acquire to apply these talents most effectively. Finally, identify the types of experiences that call upon your most powerful talents most often. Because these experiences draw on your strengths, they can both sharpen your talents and show you at your best.

A conversation that focuses on these three areas is the most effective mechanism for helping you excel. But this does not mean you should ignore your weaknesses. Very few of us are the perfect match for our job, so the areas in which we struggle -- some call them "derailers" -- will need attention.

When faced with potential derailers, you can use a variety of strategies to manage around them. You can find a partner who is strong where you are weak. You can develop a support system, such as a time-management system, if you are disorganized. If the derailer springs from a lack of knowledge, you can read up on the subject. If you lack a specific skill, you can sign up for a class. Or, if your day-to-day behavior is a derailer -- for example, you never show up for meetings on time, or you can never remember anyone's name -- you can simply buckle down and work to get a little better at it. Any one of these strategies is appropriate for managing around a derailer.

Bear in mind, though, that these strategies will never help you excel. They will simply stop you from failing. They are strategies for damage control, not development. They deserve only 20% of your time. Your strengths -- your unique combinations of talents, skills, and knowledge -- deserve the rest.