A Genius Tool for Work: SWOT

What I am going to describe now is such an exquisite use of a boundary, it as an art form. When I heard about its use, I recognized the brilliance immediately, and I feel compelled to share it even though it is a bit deviant.

My niece just started graduate school, and she requested a meeting with her assigned mentor to discuss some ideas for her capstone project. She wanted to ask questions to make sure she was on the right track before she put in too much work on the high-stakes assignment. My niece was also eager and excited. Why not make use of someone who was tasked with mentoring her?

She emailed her mentor and asked for an appointment to discuss the capstone project. Her mentor replied, “SWOT it out, and if you still have questions, let me know.” My niece was a bit stunned and called me to ask what I thought about this response. She asked if this was normal in grad school.

In retrospect, I believe I laughed out loud — both with humor and some level of appreciation of this master-level, work-avoidant boundary application.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. I first learned about the technique when I worked in graduate medical education. We would sit as a group and make comprehensive lists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for proposed projects or changes within the organization. The benefit of a SWOT analysis is it provides a systematic method to examine issues from multiple angles so that a team can develop the most effective plan based on data.

I told my niece that her mentor essentially said, “Bug off and stop bothering me until you have done the work.” While this was highly inappropriate for a mentor to do, especially when one considers the cost of graduate school, I could absolutely appreciate the eloquence of this boundary-setting skill with work bullshit. The fundamental message is: figure it out on your own before bothering me with pesky questions, but the mentor did so in a way that superficially appeared legit.

I am not advocating SWOT as a way to get out of constructively helping others, sharing your time, collaborating, or contributing to another’s growth. In this situation, SWOT was misused.

That being said, I see other uses for it.

I have added “SWOT it out” to my professional boundary toolbox, and maybe you should add it to your workplace toolbox for the next time a colleague is asking you to do work that isn’t yours to do. It’s a super productive way of saying, “My time is valuable. Let’s be sure to use it well.”

Day 6: Suggest that others do their own work.