The ongoing success of comic-based superhero movies is a testament to the deep-seated need we have to hope in someone greater than ourselves. The superpowers they bring to bear vanquish evil and “make everything all right” again.
In a similar way, those you lead are looking to you to apply all the superpowers you have in the way of intelligence, savvy, and skill to make them and the organization successful.
If you are a leader you very likely have unique gifts and talents–superpowers–that have been developed throughout your career. Some you knew you had while others were latent and needed to be drawn out.
So the question is: what are your leadership superpowers?
For most, the answer can come only with serious reflection and an increase self-awareness. It really lies in knowing your strengths, another word for superpowers. Having a clear Leadership Sight Picture depends heavily on your knowledge of your strengths.
According to Martin Seligman, founder of the positive psychology movement, your strengths:
– Are used in a broad range of situations or settings
– Are lasting in effect over time
– Consistently produce positive outcomes
– Complement other strengths you might have
The other interesting thing about strengths is that the more of them you have, the less relevant your weakness become.
The consensus from the leadership experts today is that a strengths-based approach is the most effective way to grow and improve your leadership ability.
Strengths can come in many forms: cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, character virtues, job skills, and expertise. All of these can be accurately identified with assessments, inventories, and from your career performance evaluations.
Once you identify your strengths, the good news is that they can be acquired, grown, and developed. The research clearly shows that “strengthening your strengths” will make you a better leader both objectively in terms of your actual ability to lead and subjectively in the eyes of those who see you lead.
They key is for you to make the commitment to do so. Like all worthwhile things, it takes practice, effort, and determination.
In my case, I can recall attending the Naval War College when I was a young Major. The curriculum seemed tailor-made for me, in particular the notion of creating strategy and developing options to meet the national security challenges of our time. I absolutely loved it and made a resolution to myself while at the school that I would continue to develop my “strategic chops” and apply my knowledge in future assignments.
Just two years later I found myself in the Pentagon on the Joint Staff leading the team charged with writing the first National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations. To complete the task, I used every bit of what I learned at the Naval War College and from observing some very talented generals and senior civilian political appointees. It came down to the wire though: then Secretary Rumsfeld signed the strategy a day before he left office on December 6, 2006.
The strategy turned out to be a watershed document for the Department of Defense and the Armed Forces and drove a myriad of follow-on actions to increase the DoD’s capacity to operate in and through the cyberspace domain.
Although there were many, many contributors to making that strategy a reality, I was able to use my strength in the area of strategic insight to make a decisive difference.
The point here is that your strengths are your special superpowers. You have them for a reason and that’s to use them for the betterment of those you lead and for the good of the organization.
If you’re interested in increasing your leadership strengths, one of your best bets is to enlist the help of a leadership coach who can scientifically assess your strengths, work with you to put together a leadership campaign plan, and keep you accountable for measurable progress.
Of course, I’d be happy to do that for you. Contact me for a free 20-minute strengths discussion to see if you’re a good fit for such a program.
By Joe Scherrer | The Leadership Crucible