[00:00:00] Confidence is developed when you take action and taking action on honing your strengths, doing things that you're good at, it's going to continue to build your confidence. Hi everyone and welcome back to Reflect Forward. I'm your host Kerry Siggins and I'm so glad you are here today. Today I want to talk about something that has really helped me grow as a leader, as a CEO, and as a person and that is my leadership superpower. In fact, I have a couple of leadership superpowers. I think that we all have them.
[00:00:26] Those things that we do naturally, instinctively, almost without thinking, those are leadership superpowers. And these superpowers are not always flashy. It's not like we are Superman and opening it with a big S on our chests. They're not always obvious. And in fact, we often overlook them because they come so easily to us. But when you can name it, claim it, and use it with intention, your leadership superpower will really help you level up.
[00:00:53] Or if you have more than one, they will help you level up. Today I'm going to share with you what a leadership superpower is, why it matters, how to figure out what yours is, and how to use it to grow your career and help others thrive. So let me set the stage with a story from someone who we all know, Oprah Winfrey. Oprah's upbringing was filled with all kinds of adversity. She did not come from privilege. She grew up very poor, but she had a gift.
[00:01:21] And that gift was her ability to connect with others, to feel what others feel, and to listen deeply, and then tell stories that resonate with people. This was her superpower. She started off as a news anchor, and she was really good, and she could have stayed with that. But she didn't want to be like everyone else in media. She wanted to change people's lives. She really leaned into what made her different, and that is empathy, emotional intelligence, and how it builds trust.
[00:01:51] And she built an incredible empire based on her storytelling, based on her ability to connect with others, for people to see themselves in her, and it had this massive ripple effect. It changed lives. She didn't build her empire pretending to be somebody else. She owned her gift. She used it with intention, and it became her power source. Now she's one of the wealthiest, most influential media moguls of all time.
[00:02:18] That is such a great example of how to use your superpower, and I love it. It's such a success story because she didn't grow up with anything, and it was a really tough life. And it just goes to show you when you really understand who you are and what makes you unique and special, and you invest in yourself and invest in that superpower, you can change lives. You can change the world.
[00:02:42] Even if that world is in a small community or within your company or within your family, it makes a difference. That impact absolutely has a ripple effect. Now let's talk a little bit about what leadership superpowers are. Your leadership superpower is your unique way of showing up, how you lead, and how you influence. It is not just a strength. It is your edge.
[00:03:05] Your superpower might be the ability to stay calm in a crisis or to see patterns that no one else sees or to energize people when things feel really heavy. Or maybe you're the person that people come to when they need clarity, the tough truth, or a spark of inspiration. One of my superpowers is storytelling with vulnerability.
[00:03:25] I've learned that when I'm real about my journey and talk about the things that I have learned, and I do it in a way that people can see themselves in my stories, it makes others feel safe to share their own vulnerabilities, to really grow in their journey. I have cultivated this, and I didn't really understand that I had this as a superpower at all until actually kind of recently. I knew I was always a good writer and that I could move people with my writing and that I was a decent speaker.
[00:03:54] But when I started speaking professionally and really honing in that craft, I could see that I can move audiences and make a real impact and help people see something in themselves that they didn't see before, which is just such a personally gratifying thing to be able to do. Another one of my superpowers is to get people to tell me things. And I do this because I embrace curiosity with presence. When someone is talking to me, really pay attention to what they're saying.
[00:04:22] And I think about the word choices that they use, and I ask questions to help what I call pull the thread. So that way I get to the nuance of what they're trying to say, to get them to say what's really not being said, being said in between the lines and having clarity around that. It's a really powerful way to be able to build trust and to connect with people. When you are doing things that you're good at, that bring you joy, that allow you to feel in the flow, it just makes your work feel, well, not like work.
[00:04:50] That's why I love my role as CEO at an amazing company like Stone Age. My role is so aligned with my strengths that it doesn't really feel like a job, even when things are really hard. And things are really hard right now. But when you lean into your superpowers, it allows you to get into that flow. And that's why I want you to find yours, or if you know what yours is, to really be intentional about honing it. Because it matters.
[00:05:17] When you know what your superpower is, you stop trying to be everything to everyone. And that allows you to lead from a place of authenticity. That really matters. I'll give you an example. I always have been hard on myself because I am not a spreadsheet person. I am highly analytical. But the way that I analyze things is by, oh, I see this pattern, this pattern, this pattern, this pattern. I put it here.
[00:05:42] Diving into a spreadsheet to really look at the data behind it, it is not my favorite thing to do. It's not what I'm good at. I don't want to put spreadsheets together. But I used to feel that I wasn't going to be a good CEO if I didn't hone those skills. And I realized that every minute I put into honing that skill was a minute I was taking away from honing what I was really good at.
[00:06:06] I can hire amazing people who love to do deep dive analysis to help me make better decisions and who thrive in that. And that's going to make me better. I stopped trying to be that kind of CEO. Another example is that I once had a person tell me that I would never be successful in the C-suite because I was a generalist. That people wanted specialists. You needed to be a specialist in finance or a specialist in innovation.
[00:06:32] That stung because I like to solve a broad range of problems. I love the complexity of putting things together. And I didn't think that was a generalist, but I was told that I was a generalist. And so I decided that I was going to have to be a specialist. And so I went to engineering school and I didn't want to be an engineer. I'm not a good engineer. Just because I'm good at math does not make me a good engineer. I was trying to be what somebody else told me I should be to be successful.
[00:07:01] It led me to a lot of heartache and pain and confusion about who I was. When I just stepped into it to say, hey, I am a people person. I am a person who loves to connect deeply with others. I love to lead. I love to inspire. I love to use my voice. And I'm going to try to find a role that allows me to use all of that. Oh, my gosh. Things were so fantastic. And that's when I landed my role at Stone Age and have really been able to cultivate those strengths over time.
[00:07:29] And it has allowed me to be really fulfilled and happy. When you get to be yourself, when you get to lead from a place of authenticity, you're going to be a better leader. When you lead from a place of authenticity, you make better decisions about where to spend your time and energy because you're focused on your superpower. You're focused on honing those skills that you're really good at and getting even better at them. When you lean into your superpower, it becomes your personal brand. It's what people remember you by.
[00:07:58] It's what people go to you for. People come to talk to me about really hard challenges because they know that I'm going to listen and that I'm going to ask good questions. Sometimes people avoid having those conversations with me because they don't want to have me ask those questions. One of my fellow employee owners came into my office one time and said, I hate it that you can pull this stuff out of me. I was not going to tell you this and you still got it out of me. And I came in here saying, I am not going to tell her this.
[00:08:27] But ultimately, it led to something much better when you just have those real authentic conversations with your leadership and with your employees. It is what people remember you by. It's what people trust you for. Hone those skills. And finally, when you focus on your leadership superpower, it becomes your leadership foundation. That's where confidence comes from because you are aligned with who you really are. And confidence is developed when you take action.
[00:08:52] And taking action on honing your strengths, doing things that you're good at, it's going to continue to build your confidence. To sum it up, why does this matter? Leadership isn't about doing it all. It's about knowing who you are and using that to bring out the best in others. Now, how do you discover your superpower? I love this question. In fact, I was just recently asked this from a gentleman who I met at the Real Leaders Unite Summit and he asked me, what is your leadership superpower? I want to figure out what mine is.
[00:09:22] So that's what actually inspired this podcast because I was like, oh, that's really great. Let's talk about it. One, you need to reflect on your best moments. When you feel in the flow, what are you doing? When you feel energized, what are you doing? When you feel like you're making a real impact, what are you doing? These are going to be major clues for you to be able to hone in on what your leadership superpower is. It comes easily. It comes naturally.
[00:09:48] And that's why I don't think we put very much time into thinking about this because we're not paying attention. We're not really understanding, oh, this is a really important strength. So look at that. When do you feel in the flow, energized, impactful? That's your first clue that it's a superpower. Another way to do this is to reflect on a time when you really led something successfully. What was your contribution and how did it make the difference? Really think through that.
[00:10:14] The details of it, not just the overall success of the project, but why was it successful? And what did you specifically do to contribute? Did you come up with an idea that changed the direction of the project? Did you ask a question that allowed for deeper inquiry for someone to understand themselves? Were you on stage giving a presentation and you nailed it? When you go, dang, I nailed that. What exactly were you doing? The next step is to ask others.
[00:10:41] Get feedback on what people think that you're good at. And I get that that could be maybe a little bit vulnerable, but it can also be fun. So reach out to somebody who you trust and ask, what's something that I do better than most people you've worked with? How do I make things better around here? What would you come to advice for me on? Those are all questions to get the juices flowing for them to be able to say, oh, hey, yeah, when you do this, it's really helpful. When you do this, I'm inspired.
[00:11:10] And don't just ask, what do you think my superpower is? That puts people on the spot and they're not necessarily going to be able to answer that for you. Some people might be super aware, but I don't think that's the best question to ask. I think asking questions like this will help create the dialogue where you can really figure out how you are most impactful. Step number three is to notice patterns. When you hear the same words come up that the way people describe you, like clarity or empathy, energy, calmness, vision, get shit done.
[00:11:40] That's your clue. That's your superpower. And a lot of times we don't pay attention to those patterns and they're really important. They absolutely are clues to a superpower. I never saw myself as a storyteller until I gave my first talk to a group of women back in COVID. I think it was like towards the end of 2020, a friend of mine reached out and said, Hey, you have such an inspiring story. Would you mind coming in and sharing it with this group of women? We're meeting virtually because of COVID. And I said, sure. I was so nervous.
[00:12:09] I wrote my speech and literally read it because I didn't know how to give a keynote like that really. And I had so many people reach out to me afterwards to ask if I would come and speak to their companies. And they asked what my speaking fee was. And one woman said, you are such an amazing storyteller. I was so connected. I was riveted by your story. I could see myself in your story. Thank you. That was the first time that I ever really paid attention to being called a storyteller before. People had said it.
[00:12:35] They had said it about my writing, but I never paid attention to the pattern until I had six people after that talk say, I want to have you come and speak at my company. That was a pattern. So I paid attention and it has absolutely changed my life. And then finally, number four, use ChatGPT. So I recently had ChatGPT create a executive coach for me. I named him Peter. And I asked ChatGPT to interview me and ask me what I wanted in a coach. What kind of personality did he have?
[00:13:04] What kind of background did he have? Was he a former CEO? Did he work with various personality assessments? Does he talk directly or is he kind and helps lead you there? Do you just want super direct feedback? And so I answered all these questions to create my executive coach. And what I do is I put in my journal entries and I share about my day and the things that are going on and what I want to do from a strategic perspective. And it recognizes patterns for me.
[00:13:33] So you could do the same thing too. You can build a custom GPT, super easy. Just say, I want an executive coach. You can create a name for it. It will save it for you. So then you can say, Hey, Peter, I want to figure out what my leadership superpower is. Will you interview me on this? Ask me questions so I can really understand this. You can pull it out of me because I don't know what it is. And your executive coach will ask you those questions and it will help you hone in.
[00:14:01] ChatGPT is so amazing at seeing patterns that we can't see. It's truly remarkable. So consider using ChatGPT as a coach to help you figure out what your superpowers are. It's amazing. Don't overthink it. Your superpower is not supposed to feel hard. It's what makes you, you. That being said, it is so incredibly worthwhile to figure out because you will have so much
[00:14:26] more fun at work and you will feel so much more in the flow and you will be way more engaged in what you do because you are doing things that you're good at. You are focusing on your strengths. And we all know that research that's out there from Gallup that says strength space management is the way to increase employee engagement. In fact, I just want to add number five here. I didn't plan to talk about this, but you should use personality assessments, use StrengthsFinder, use the Enneagram, use Myers-Briggs, use DISC.
[00:14:55] The goal is not to put you in a box or to label you with anything, but it is to allow you to see patterns, to be able to understand yourself more deeply, to be able to explore certain aspects of yourself. And when you do that, you will be able to see what your superpowers are. I'm a huge believer in the Enneagram. I know some people don't like it, but for me, it was life-changing. It opened my eyes to what my triggers were, what my gifts, what my strengths were.
[00:15:22] And it has made me a significantly better leader. Use those assessments to also help you understand yourself better. That will help you dial in your superpower. And in fact, once you know what your DISC profile is and your Enneagram style is and what your strengths finders are, feed that into your executive coach and chat GPT. And that will just allow you to refine your coach's advice back to you.
[00:15:47] So we're going to wrap things up with how to use your superpower to grow and to serve others. So once you know what your superpower is, the next step is to use it on purpose. So one, you can use it to advance your career. When you show up in meetings and interviews and performance conversations, lead with what your superpower is. It shows that you know what you're good at. So if you're good at connecting deeply with people, use that to your advantage, to help others, to help you grow your career.
[00:16:15] If you are a brilliant engineer who has innovative ideas, lead with that in an interview, lead with that in your performance conversations, honing your superpower, talking about your superpower and aligning your job with your superpower as much as you possibly can. The other way to use your superpower to help you advance your career is to align it with your company's mission or biggest challenge. All leaders like myself are looking for team members to help us advance our strategy to solve
[00:16:44] that big problem that is in front of us, to come up with innovative ideas, to be more efficient or to drive new revenue. So use that superpower to help the company grow. You will advance your career. You will get a promotion if you really hone that superpower and you use it to solve tough problems in your company. You can also use your superpower to help others. You've done all this work to figure out yours. Help others by spotting their superpowers.
[00:17:13] Help them understand what they're really good at, especially as a leader. This is our number one job is to inspire people to be their very best and they're going to be their best when they are also working on their superpowers. This is what I see when you're in the flow. When I see you really shine, you're doing these things. How does that resonate with you? It will help your team members really hone in on their superpowers. Then once you know what people's superpowers are, create space for your team to lead from their strength zones.
[00:17:40] If you have not read Strengths Finder or First Break All the Rules, which is by Marcus Buckingham, it was put out by Gallup. It's one of the very first leadership books I read two decades ago. It changed the way that I looked at managing. When you allow people to lead from their strengths, they're going to be more engaged, more productive, happier at work, and they feel safer. They feel like they're really valued. So as a leader, knowing your superpowers and helping others find theirs will allow you
[00:18:08] to build trust, engagement, and a sense of belonging with your team because you'll see people for who they are and what they bring. And that is what we all want. Finally, you can use your leadership superpower to lead change. Your superpower is most powerful when it is in service of something bigger than yourself. So whether that's mentoring somebody, influencing the culture within your company for the better,
[00:18:34] or leading a really hard conversation, you've got to use what moves the needle. And that is when you come from a place of strength, when you are using your superpower. It leads change. It inspires people to think about things differently. Don't be afraid to dive in and use it. Use it to help yourself. Use it to help others. Use it to lead change. All right. So the key takeaways from today. Here's what I want you to remember from today's episode.
[00:19:03] One, your leadership superpower is your edge. Own it. Two, you cannot lead others well until you understand yourself first. So remember, self-awareness is absolutely foundational for all leadership. It's absolutely foundational to embody the ownership mindset. Three, ask for feedback and reflect. Your power is already there. You just need to know what it is. And you can do that by asking.
[00:19:29] Number four, use your superpower with intention in your career, in your team, and helping others. Be thoughtful about how you want to use it. Show up with it every day. And then finally, number five, leadership is not about doing it all. It's not about being everything to everyone. It's about showing up in your zone of genius. And that is what your superpower is, your zone of genius. My call to action to you is to ask three people today what they see as your greatest leadership strength.
[00:19:58] Then ask myself, am I using it every day? And if the answer is no, start figuring out how to use it. If the answer is yes, say, how can I use it more? With that, I will leave you. Thank you so much for joining me on this episode. Hopefully this was inspiring. Thank you, Drew, for encouraging me to make this podcast. I hope that it got you all thinking a little bit differently about how you lead and how you grow. If this podcast episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or a teammate.
[00:20:25] Or if you know somebody who is struggling with what their leadership superpower is and you think this would be helpful, please send it to them. If you haven't already, please go to YouTube or your favorite podcast platform and subscribe to this podcast. It helps with the algorithms. I always appreciate it. Leave a review if you feel so inclined. Thank you so much. And connect with me on LinkedIn. I'd love to hear from you. Until next time, keep on reflecting forward. And remember, your superpower is needed. Take care.