There are so many articles, books, blogs, podcasts, and talks outlining what it takes to be a “good leader.” But what makes you a good leader? Good is one of those words that is hard to define, what is good for one person may not be good enough for someone else. Which makes it challenging to narrow down what you need to do or should do to be a good or dare I say great leader. When it comes to leadership one of the most powerful things that I believe you can utilize is your strengths or your superpowers. Keeping in mind that leadership does not mean that you need to be in a designated role, I’m talking about leadership in the bigger sense of the word. Leadership as a way of being and going through life.
“When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”
~ Audre Lorde
With the number of superhero movies and tv shows out there it seems like everyone and anyone could have a superpower and the truth is that we can and we do. It’s figuring out what it is and then capitalizing on it that is the hard part. Our superpower is the thing or things about us that make us unique and powerful. It has nothing to do with how we look and it has everything to do with how we feel and how we make other’s feel.
When we step into our strengths with both feet we are standing on solid ground. We stand in a space that we know like the back of our hand. A space that makes us feel powerful. In the powerful words of Voltaire and subsequently Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben (Spider-Man’s uncle) “with great power comes great responsibility.”
When we feel powerful we need to use that power for good.
My superpowers are my resilience and my energy. I’m good at bouncing back and finding ways to move through challenges with a positive outlook and if I can’t find a true positive I can find humour. And don’t we all need to laugh more! I have been told that I have “an energy” I choose to take that as a compliment and turn it into one of my superpowers. I know I have high energy and I believe that my energy radiates kindness and makes people feel comfortable. I’ve taken these superpowers and I use them in my coaching to help other people. That’s how I operationalize them and put them in action! It took me a while to find something that I loved doing and as it turns out the key to finding something I love doing was finding something that I could do that uses my superpowers to their fullest.
Operationalizing our superpowers is the part we sometimes have to work at. Where can we work them into our everyday leadership? Where can we use them to help other people? How can we use them to make change happen when it needs to happen? Not only can a coach help you to narrow down and identify your superpowers but they can also help you think through how to use your superpowers for good so that you too can stand on solid ground with confidence. Feel free to reach out via Email, LinkedIn or Instagram I would love to work with you on figuring out your superpowers!
