What is your Superpower?

The trigger for this article came after I came across this phrase, today morning in the McKinsey report, 'What matters most? Eight Priorities for CEOs in 2024. That was in the context of an organization, and I was reflecting on it from a Leadership point of view.

So, what do CEOs and C-Suite leaders bring as their superpower? The answer will differ for each leader, and rightly so. 

As a CEO/ C-suite leader, how do you discover your superpower, be more aware of it, and leverage it as a fulcrum to exert more influence to move, shake, accelerate, and have a more significant impact across their organizations?

 Leaders who harness their unique abilities - superpowers help drive innovation, inspire teams, and propel organizations to great success. 

Here are five practices you can embrace to identify and leverage your superpowers to have an exponential impact.

1. Self-reflection - Discovering Your Superpower

   1. Reflect on your values, strengths, and passions. What activities energize you and why? 

   2. Validate your reflections with feedback from peers, colleagues, mentors, and coaches. What do others see as your greatest strength or unique talents?

   3. Look for evidence from pivotal moments in your career where you made the most significant contribution and impact. What skills were at play during those moments?
      

2. Identify Patterns: Uncovering Your Superpower Signature.

   1. Recognize the patterns emerging from your reflections, feedback, and evidence. Are there recurring themes or qualities that stand out?

   2. Connect the dots. Consider how you can leverage your unique strengths to align with the organization's goals and values to achieve strategic objectives sustainably.

   3. Look out for the superpower in your leadership team and how you can use yours to complement and collaborate with them effectively to maximize the collective impact.
      

3. Amplifying Your Superpower

   1. Lean In. Embrace your strengths and play to them. Let it shape your leadership style. Be authentic about it.

   2. Demonstrate Your superpower. How do you demonstrate your Superpowers or strengths through your words, decisions, actions, and interactions? 

   3. Evolve. Explore how you can fine-tune and refine your superpower through experimentation, learning, and feedback. Stay nimble and agile in response to changing circumstances and opportunities.
      

4. Enabling Others Superpowers

   1. Inspire others to embrace their strengths and potential. Celebrate the strength in your team and organization and empower them to contribute their unique talents to complement others.
      

5. Overcome Overreliance on Superpower 

   1. While you can play to your strengths, consider whether you are relying too heavily on it, closing your eyes to new approaches. Are you becoming a single-strength player? 

   2. Foster a growth mindset, clearly understanding that all individuals operate between fixed and growth mindsets depending on the situation. Ask yourself, from which mindset am I operating in this particular situation?

The ability to harness your superpower intentionally is a game-changer for CEOs and C-Suite leaders. By embracing these five practices, you can unlock new levels of leadership excellence and drive sustainable growth for your organization.

So, what is your superpower?