There are several heroes among us who do brilliant things on a daily basis. They all share traits that are commonly found in heroes such as confidence, integrity, humility and vision. But only a few of these heroes go beyond the realm of normal and are far more superior. The corporate superpowers and abilities they possess is what makes them great. Fortunately we don’t have to be born with these abilities and can learn and develop them through our experience and knowledge.
Here are some corporate superpowers you should be learning and using to transform yourself into a great leader.
1. Superhuman Hearing
Superman has the ability to hear sounds clearly from a great distance. He simply focuses on what matters and zones out of all other noise that could possibly distract him. Leaders who possess this corporate superpower have proven that they can hear things that people generally tend to miss out. Call it a “super listening skill” that allows leaders to read the message between the lines and pick out the true meaning and essence of what’s being said. Beyond their listening abilities, they can decipher tones, body language, gestures, facial expressions and even the choice of words that give them corporate superpowers to understand human behaviors. And with this ability you’ll be able to influence and understand people far better than other leaders.
2. Weather Manipulation
Among the many powers and abilities that Storm possesses she’s most popularly known for being able to control the weather. As corporate superpowers go, it’s important for leaders to be seen as disruptive forces. To truly be successful, have a competitive edge, and lead the market you’ll need to be able to disrupt how consumers and the market behaves. Steve Jobs controlled the ‘weather’ (the market) through the iPhone – changing mobile computing. Elon Musk altered our perception of electric vehicles. Larry Page and Sergey Brin disrupted the traditional workplace culture with their revolutionary ideas at Google.
3. Spider-Sense
Spider-Man has one of the most unique superpowers amongst other superheroes – his “spider-sense” helps alert him of danger before it happens. In the corporate world having spider-senses may be far fetched, but being able to highlight issues before they occur and which no one else can spot is a superpower in its own right. Leaders who are alert and attentive to patterns and trends have the ability to highlight areas of concern, plan corrective measures and make swift decisions that’ll help organizations stay on course. It’s about being proactive. And for that they’ll need to be able to gauge the pulse of their customers, employees and other stakeholders.
4. Selfless
While he may have been arrogant before he got his superpowers, Doctor Strange transformed himself to become the most selfless superhero the world has ever seen. Leaders tend to get the limelight quite often, particularly when things are going well for an organization. But a great leaders knows when to take the step back and let their team shine. Being a selfless leader gives you the ability to focus on the bigger picture while you’re not wasting your time and effort chasing after getting the credit for it. After all, your objective is to ensure goals are met, irrespective of who’s achieving it, you or your team.
5. Regeneration
Having Wolverine’s regeneration abilities would simply be awesome because it would make you immortal. But even if you can’t literally be immortal there’s another way to become eternal. And that’s by building a leadership legacy that’s bigger than you. First you’ll need to develop your superpower of resilience. That means having the ability to weather any storm, failing fast and bouncing back stronger and being determined and focused. With such corporate superpowers you’ll be unharmed by failures because you’ll have to ability to learn and heal and keep pursuing your dreams. Resilience will help you create a leadership legacy that’ll make you eternal.
6. Telepathy
I don’t mean telepathy literally! But what I am suggesting is being able to make your way into your team’s mind to better understand them. Professor Charles Xavier (a.k.a. Professor X) is probably the best example of a great mentor and leader. His leadership style of observing the talent around him, guiding them through personal and professional challenges and helping them tap into their full potential is not only exemplary, it’s downright perfect! Another quality that he so effortlessly exhibits is how he doesn’t buckle under pressure – he defines tranquility. Having his superpower (even if you can’t read or control people’s minds like him) can see you develop an unstoppable team of high achievers.
Greatness for a leader isn’t achieved by doing ordinary things. You’ll have to be unique, bold, courageous and possess superpowers – much like superheroes. You’ll have to lead responsibly and take risks. Start with one of these corporate superpowers and excel in it before you move on to the next one. Fortunately, you don’t need to have dramatic beginnings like these superheroes to develop these abilities.
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Paul Keijzer is the CEO and Founder of Engage Consulting and the co-Founder of The Talent Games, which aims to transform HR by digitising talent processes and creating more engaging and productive workplaces through gamification and mobile technology. As a global HR and Leadership Management expert, Paul knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.