Wonder Woman, Super Man, Iron Man, Thor, Batman, The Avengers…Super hero movies are taking the world by storm, bringing people of all ages to the box office and smashing sales records. Without a doubt, people love super heroes and the premise behind them.
Who wouldn’t want to feel as though they have a sense of both ‘invincibility’ and ‘purpose?’ We all do, of course!
But what if I told you that you, too, possess superpowers similar to what you see in the movies? Now, I’m not saying that you have X-ray vision and can see through buildings. But I am saying that you may have laser focus in analyzing situations and seeing solutions where others can’t. In essence, your superpower is an amalgamation of strengths. It’s that thing you do that comes so naturally where others may struggle. That’s the kind of superpower I’m talking about!
Even better, Gallup research has shown that people who exercise their strengths at work outperform those that don’t. They are:
- 8% More Productive
- 15% Less Likely to Quit
- 6X More Likely to be Engaged in Work
- 3X more Likely to have an Excellent Quality of Life
Bottom line, understanding – and leveraging – your superpower will change your life. So what are you waiting for? Read on to determine your superpower!
My Superpower
Key to identifying and leveraging your superpower is understanding where it comes from. To help set the stage, let me begin with an explanation of my superpower – which I describe as ‘The Resolution Driver’ – and where it comes from.
Some of you may already know my personal story but here’s the backdrop to my superpower as shared in my book, Confronting My Elephants.
I am a product of the Vietnam War. I am from a family of 10 brothers and sisters. One day before the fall of Saigon, my mom managed to escape the country with 8 of us. We had to leave 2 of my sisters behind.
We started over, from scratch, with nothing but the clothes on our back and bags in our hands. My mom was just 32 years old and my youngest sister was one month. I was almost 5. Shortly in the States, my mom suddenly passed away. She was killed by a drunk driver. My oldest sister had just turned 21 one-month prior. I was 12. In the blink of an eye, we became Orphans and wards of the court system.
I had no choice but to quickly figure out how to resolve what seemed insurmountable at the time: No Father, No Mother, Orphans, new country, new language, new everything.
As ‘heart wrenching’ as my life experience was, I can tell you that through calamity, arose my Superpower as ‘The Resolution Driver’ to whatever problem I faced.
Superpowers are REAL and they do come from your upbringing, i.e. your life story. It’s THE talent that you have nurtured through the years that allows you to bring ‘worth, value and recognition’ to yourself and to that of others. Let’s see if we can help you identify yours.
What’s YOUR Superpower?
The best way to arrive at your Superpower is by answering a set of very simple, yet profound questions. Don’t rush this process. Just take pen to paper, ponder, and write down your answers. Perfection is not the goal here, just get close for starters.
Questions to Uncover Your Superpower
- Reflecting for as long as you can remember, what always seemed to come naturally for you? This is the single biggest indicator to what your superpower might be. Was it solving problems, doodling, speaking, connecting to others, making things better?
- Where did your Superpower come from? In other words, why did you develop this Superpower? For me, I had to find a way to resolve my problem of not having a mother, father, or role model in my life. I had to become my own Being able to explain ‘where your superpower came from’ will validate that it, indeed, is your Superpower.
- What have others told you that you seem to do that ‘makes it look so easy’? But when they try it, is far from easy.
- Ask others who know you well what they believe your ‘Superpower’ to be. Write down everything they say to find the common threads.
- Use assessment tools such as ‘Strengthsfinders’ or ‘DiSC.’ To be clear, assessments directionally ‘compliment’ your Superpower but they won’t clearly identify it. That’s where you need to add the answers to Questions 1 – 4 to help crystallize your superpower.
Take all of this information and ponder on it for a few days. Draft what you feel are your Superpower strengths and run them past co-workers, friends, relatives and anyone else you trust. Take their feedback and further refine. You WILL know when you have identified your Superpower because it will simply feel right. You’ll start remembering all of the situations where you exercised the superpower and how satisfied you felt, the compliments you received, the results you achieved.
Once identified, determine how to integrate it into your work and your life. This may require a conversation with your boss, your spouse or whomever. Take this leap and you WILL find greater satisfaction.
Superpower Examples and ‘How They’re Being Leveraged!’
The following are a list of ‘actual’ Superpowers and how individuals are leveraging them at work!
| Superpower | Leveraged at Work |
| The Resolution Driver | Organizational strategy, leadership, alignment, integrator to leaders, teams and companies. |
| The Artful Converger | Strategic integration and planning at the highest levels. |
| The Unique Maximizer | Optimizes university student development and leadership. |
| Visionary Inclusionator | Taking company and people to higher heights and new frontiers. |
| Succinctly Dependable | Inter-departmental champion and ‘right hand’ to CEO |
| To be Steadfastly Understood | Leading company to ‘next phase’ of growth and development through thorough understanding |
| The ‘all angle’ Appeaser | Human Resource and Capital Integrator of his company. |
| Infectious Encourager | Board President and primary influencer congregation ‘buy-in’ and support |
| To Shine Logically | Product to Consumer Innovator and ‘Translator’ of what works/doesn’t for the Consumer |
Go Save the World
With use of your superpower, you are achieving your ‘highest self.’ A ‘zone’ where you believe you are being FULLY leveraged and valued and where it seems like you are ‘getting paid’ to do not only what you love, but where what you do seems to come easily, almost naturally. That scenario my friends, is truly one where you are lining up your passion with Superpower. And when you are serving the ‘greater good,’ you won’t only ‘feel’ like a ‘superhero,’ you will actually be perceived as one! Now, ‘go save the world!’
SAOL™ Transformational Leadership
Each blog comes from SAOL, The Rubi Ho Group’s exclusive leadership methodology known as Strategic, Agile, Organizational Leadership. Its’ proven framework offers a common-sense approach to driving synergy, alignment and performance within leaders, teams and organizations.
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Warmest Regards,
Rubi
