We’ve all struggled with naming our best talents. Superpowers can be elusive for many reasons. Yet, if we can’t express our strengths to others, how will they understand where we excel? And if they don’t know what we do well, why would they hire us or send appropriate opportunities our way?
As we continue this blog series (this link will take you to the first one) addressing each chapter of The Purple Parachute: A Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Winds of Career Change, we will turn to understanding your superpowers.
Let’s take a few moments to consider your exceptional strengths. You may have one that stands out above all others. You may have more than one. For simplicity, let’s call them superpowers and assume you have one. So, what is your superpower? Can you name it? Many peoples’ first reaction is to say they don’t have one or any. In my experience, women almost always react this way.
Many times, a strength lies in a transferable skill, but not always. While it may be a transferable skill, such as leading without formal authority, it may also be a specific job skill, like being a nurse who is the best at inserting an IV. It may be a soft skill (great at reading a room). It may be a personal trait (being dependable). Your superpower may be an interest or a value (total devotion to saving the environment).
No matter what you call your strength and no matter its source, you need to know what it is. It can be hard to name a strength, so I will share some tips for discovery below. For career management, but especially in job search, you must communicate your strengths frequently at networking events and interviews. Since I haven’t met a person yet who hasn’t said they have awkward feelings when sharing their strengths, I’ll suggest some tips for that too.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KNOW YOUR SUPERPOWER?
Knowing your superpower is a confidence-building exercise. As you embrace the reality of your exceptional strength, you will draw upon it more often. By using it more often, you will strengthen it. It’s a vicious cycle of the best kind. However, for this cycle to begin, you must know your key talent.
Identifying your gifts is one step to finding job satisfaction. Knowing your superpower is critical in your career because you will be at your best when you are utilizing strengths that you enjoy on a regular basis. First, you must discover it, then you need to target jobs, companies, or industries that need that talent.
As we’ve all heard before, “everything in moderation.” Knowing your superpower also means knowing when it can backfire. If you rely too much on your strongest skills without a break, it is possible to feel burnout. Also, every asset has a liability, just like every tall mountain has a shaded side. You must know your superpower to understand times when it’s best unused. Think of a great problem solver listening to a friend who just needs to be heard or the practically of exercising your efficiency skills when you are teaching your child how to ride a bike.
WHY ARE THEY SO HARD TO NAME?
One of the top reasons we have a hard time naming our strengths is that we are often blind to them. The fact that they come easily to us makes us ignore their power. A common phrase I hear when working with a client discovering her superpower is, “I thought everyone was as good at this.” but if she is honest with herself, she might admit that she is the best at this talent of anyone she knows.
Another reason for not being in touch with our talents is the busy pace of today’s world. We often run from one responsibility to the next without taking any time to take a breath. Often to know your strength, you must sit in reflection or at least take time to gather input from others.
Lastly, our American society, and indeed many cultures, generally does not reward women for expressing accomplishments. When we speak about our strengths, we can be ignored. We can be put in our place. We can be seen as too confident and someone to be feared. In many settings like school and work, women are most often rewarded for being in the background and keeping our mouths shut.
Looking at these reasons, it makes sense that we are not practiced in naming our strengths, much less sharing them with others. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay there. With a little time and effort, you can figure out what you do best and practice sharing it with others.
WAYS TO DISCOVER YOUR SUPERPOWERS
As with any effort of discovery, you need to exercise curiosity and ask some questions. There are a variety of steps you can take, starting internally and moving externally. Set aside time for reflection and exercises to draw out your strengths. Complete assessments (there are free and paid options) and seek feedback from others. If you still feel stuck or confused, hire a career professional or branding expert to help you make sense of the information you gathered.
To get started, begin by asking yourself these questions:
- What do people ask you for help with on a regular basis?
- What are some repeating comments shared in employee reviews over time?
- Which of your talents or personal strengths receive frequent praise?
- What are some actions that come easily to you?
Next, ask friends, family, and colleagues questions as an informal assessment. Focus on asking people who know you well. While you may have recently hit it off with someone, a new acquaintance is going to have a limited perspective. Also, stick with people who you trust and respect so you are more likely to get honest answers. Some questions you could ask others are:
- What are the qualities you appreciate most about me?
- Which skills would you say are some of my strongest?
- Please share three things you think I do better than most people you know.
SHARING YOUR STRENGTHS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In a job search, you must be able to communicate your exceptional strengths so people understand the value you bring to a role. When done well, sharing a superpower includes an explanation of an accomplishment, providing validation of your talent. Adding a compelling story makes your strength more believable and memorable. There are many career situations that require you to share about yourself in a positive way. Think of a networking event or a job interview. You can share your strengths in a humble way, but if you don’t share them at all, people will not remember you for your greatest asset.
When it comes to sharing accomplishments, it’s not always what you say but how and when you say it. Imagine me randomly blurting out the following sentence in a loud, snobby voice and elongating the word “I.” “I recently wrote a book and it’s amazing.” Sounds icky for many reasons, but mainly, it’s a very self-centered delivery. I could say a similar sentence in a much humbler way. For example, I could state, “Last fall I was excited to be able to call myself an author after releasing my first book.” This could be said softly and in a group discussion where each person is asked to share something that gives them pride. I think you’ll agree that these two common messages, with changed deliveries, will be received differently. The lesson here is that it’s OK to share an accomplishment in the right setting, with the right tone.
Practice, practice, practice. Just like a professional speaker recites the words so they come out seemingly unrehearsed, you need to do the same. Create a few versions in varied lengths so you are prepared for a quick introduction or a longer conversation. Draft your accomplishment stories so they are easy to understand and have the impact you seek. Test them out on others and make edits. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with a few reliable answers. This way, you won’t be caught off guard the next time someone asks you, “What is your superpower?”
P.S. Don’t forget, September 6th is the deadline to register for my Finding Peace & Clarity in Your Job Search class. Register TODAY!
