How to Amplify Your Leadership Superpowers
One of my clients, an experienced executive and serial founder, recently asked me what her strengths were so she could see how to better leverage them in the future scenario she was struggling with. I quickly rattled off her top 3.
She was surprised that I knew her superpowers without giving her an assessment or working with her 40h/wk like her colleagues who worked with her for months or years to ID the same 3 superpowers that she not coincidentally totally forgot out (more on that in the postscript below…).
It's my job to figure this out!
How to unlock your superpowers
1) Be curious
2) Ask questions that elicit stories
3) Listen
4) Glean superpowers
You can do this for yourself. And it's easier to do for someone else—especially someone you manage.
Once you've found your top 3, figure out how to leverage and amplify them. That's a story, too!
According to psychologists, the stories that we tell ourselves about our past, present, and future are hypotheses that you can and should test.
How to activate your superpowers
1) Imagine how you can use them for good
2) Make stuff happen (prototype > IRL)
3) Measure + Learn
...but... What about Kryptonite?
How to identify your Kryptonite
1) Take your superpowers
2) Identify what happens when you overuse them
3) That's it. That's your Kryptonite.
But wait! ...there's more!
Of course there's always more Kryptonite lurking in the shadows.
How to identify your Kryptonite part 2
1) Make a list of the people, things, behaviors, or beliefs that get in your way.
Luckily, this isn't rocket science.
Once you've identified your Kryptonite, don't fight it. That's a waste of energy (and many psychologists believe doesn't work).
How to leverage your Kryptonite
1) Identify how Kryptonite serves you
2) Use Kryptonite for good
3) Psst...new superpowers!
That's it. That's the story.
To make this story better, interview your superhero's people system. Elicit LOTS of stories. Glean superpowers and Kryptonite from the system of stories. What you learn might surprise you. Or validate what you know and provide clear paths for making the entire system stronger so that you can all be super and meet your, your teams, and your organizational goals.
Because every story needs a "so that" so that it's complete.
The end.
(btw, this works for teams, orgs, and companies, too)
***
Postscript: the reason I don’t use out-of-the-box strengths finder assessments with my clients is that the results aren’t as sticky as story-based superpowers. Studies show that if you give someone a list of words to memorize, they’ll have mixed success. But if they can weave those words into a story or see them presented in a story format, they’ll be more likely to recall more words. Your brain is powered by stories. Your colleagues are powered by stories. Stories are superpowers realized. They’re the stuff of great leaders, great companies, and great everything.
