Last week, police in Portland, Oregon, searched a stolen car and found fentanyl, oxycodone, methamphetamines, a loaded gun, and a wad of cash.

That’s hardly news.

What caught my eye was the fact that the drugs, guns, and money were all in a zippered pouch labeled “Definitely not a bag full of drugs.”

I am not making this up.

Now obviously, I am telling you this because it’s bizarre and, if I’m being honest, pretty hilarious to those of us who love irony.

But now I have to justify the story by turning it into a metaphor.

Fortunately, that’s easy.

Do You Have Any Weaknesses?

Do you have any weaknesses?

• Maybe you’re a mess with spreadsheets.
• Maybe you run out of energy at 2pm on most work days.
• Maybe you break out in flop sweat when asked to present at meetings.

It’s natural to want people to see us in a good light. Evolutionary, status and reputation were assets that could be leveraged for privileged access to resources (a fertile mate and the best cut of tofu, for example).

And that hasn’t changed as we’ve traded clubs and leopard skins for mobile phones and power suits.

So it’s natural to want to hide your weaknesses from your your boss, your peers, and your direct reports.

Unfortunately, that rarely works.

Weaknesses are Obvious by Definition

After all, your weaknesses are weaknesses only because they’re relevant to your performance in a particular context.

I can’t use an astrolabe, for example, but that would be a weakness only if I needed to find the latitude of a ship in the 14th century. Unless I time travel to the deck of a Portuguese caravel in 1389, my navigational deficiency remains irrelevant.

So any weakness that’s identified as such cannot be a secret. Even if you aren’t aware of it, others are (or will be as soon as the situation that calls for that particular skill arises).

Don’t Hide Your Weaknesses

If you try to hide your weaknesses, it’s a lot like walking around with street drugs, a pistol, and cash in a bag labeled “Definitely not a bag full of drugs.”

As all political operatives know, “It’s not the crime; it’s the coverup.”

Having a weakness is a lot less of a problem than having a weakness and trying to hide it.

The gyrations and contortions required to disguise a lack of ability draw far more attention to you than the actual lack of ability.

So what should you do instead?

Own Them and Get Help

Own your weaknesses and enlist stakeholders to help you improve.

That might sound like any of the following:

Hey, I really struggle with putting together pivot tables and turning them into graphs in Excel. I can give you the numbers and validate the analytics, but I need help doing the next steps. Can you think of anyone who could give me a hand with doing the job and acquiring the skill?Listen, for some reason my energy seems to run out after lunch these days. I’m working on it, but I haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet. I’m concerned that I’m not going to bring my best to these 4pm pitch meetings — is there any chance we can schedule them earlier in the day?I’ve got a favor to ask. I’m starting to be asked to brief the SLT on the progress of our initiative, and I find that I get nervous and stilted when I speak in public. Could you all help me work on that during our team meetings, and give me feedback and advice when you see me present?

This does a few things.

First, it demonstrates your confidence in yourself — insecure people don’t publicly acknowledge their challenges and ask for help.

Second, it makes you a role model for others with weaknesses of their own.

Third, it alerts others that you’re trying to improve, so they’ll be much more likely to notice when you do.

And fourth, it orients everyone’s energy — yours and the people you work with — toward a solution.

Your Turn

What’s one weakness that’s getting in the way of your best work?

Have you been trying to hide it, work on it in secret, or pretend that it’s no big deal?

Who might you approach to share that weakness and request help?