004 – Brand Yourself Like a Superhero: 5 Steps to Finding your Professional Superpowers

Summary: In this episode of the LionSage podcast, we run through case study that goes to the very foundation of professional brand building.  As always, names are changed to protect confidentiality. Situation Joe is a 32 year old, ambitious young professional that feels like he has hit a ceiling in his career.  He watches as peers get the visibility, growth, and career opportunities that he does not.  He is especially confused since he feels like he outworks his peers.  After some discussion, it becomes apparent that although he outworks his peers, he is not necessarily out producing them. Root cause In order to illustrate a few points, we swerve into discussing Joe’s favorite superhero, which is Batman.  When asked why it is his favorite, Joe responds that he admires that he does not have a superpower.  Upon further discussion, Joe agrees that Batman does have, however, a unique advantage over his foes in his technological ingenuity.  We connect back to Joe’s unique, natural advantages, to which he says he has none. Strategies Here we go on to discuss 5 steps that Joe can take to find his professional superpowers. Firstly, I ask Joe to think of as many stories as possible of him being at his best.  To help jumpstart his brainstorming, I ask Joe 4 questions: Can he think of any stories in which he did something that he thought was no big deal, but someone else thought was a big deal? Can he think of any stories in which he is so engrossed in an activity that time flies by? Can he think of any stories in which he is repeatedly asked to do certain tasks or projects that are not under the normal purview of his job responsibilities? Can he think of any stories in which he worked hard on something, and was physically drained, but emotionally charged up? I ask Joe to email between 10 and 20 colleagues and/or friends that know him well to ask them to write stories of times in which Joe was at his best. Joe then takes all the collected stories, his own and others, and starts looking for common themes and patterns that may hint at unique abilities. Joe then is to combine individual abilities into “superpowers” and to brainstorm what types of problems could this “superpower” solve. Lastly, I ask Joe to put what he has learned to the ultimate test, which is using the “superpower” to solve a problem and to gauge results. Result After completing the above 5 steps, Joe uncovers several potential unique natural advantages that he can use to tip the outcomes of his career in his favor.  Specifically, he finds strength patterns in his ability to clearly communicate as well as quickly create trust with people. When combining these two abilities into a “superpower,” he hypothesizes that one application of this combination is the ability to facilitate meetings and events.  He tests this hypothesis and confirms that this indeed is a unique natural advantage. Joe is well on his way to creating a powerful brand that is based on understanding his actual professional superpowers.