I was filling out a business profile recently and noticed that alongside the blanks for my name and website address was a blank for “Your Superpower.” I love that! And it got me thinking. Do you wonder what are your superpowers at work or beyond?

What would you fill in as your superpower? I discovered it was a worthwhile exercise to think about my superpowers. I’ll explain more and how to know your superpowers.

Wait, what’s a superpower?

When I talk about superpowers, I’m talking about what are you really good at, in a way that feels natural to you. Everyone has something like that.

It’s something that comes so easily for you, that it’s hard for you to see, but others see it because it’s not typical for others.

In order to excel in your work or get that job offer, it helps to know what you’re exceptionally good at, and you might not know.

I’ll explain how to find your superpowers and what I learned about my own superpowers.

How To Find Your Superpowers

First off, you have more than one superpower.

You probably minimize your superpowers or can’t even see them at all, because it comes so naturally to you that you could practically do it in your sleep. But other people might struggle with that same ability.

Here are 5 ways to help you discover your superpowers:

1. Look for what comes naturally. What’s the thing you can do that seems so easy to you but that seems to amaze others? Think about it. Brainstorm.
   Here are 2 of my superpowers as examples: a) Helping people feel deeply understood. b) Easily visualizing the fastest path for doing something.
2. Ask people who know and like you what they would say is a unique talent of yours. Try asking them, “What do you think are my best strengths?” They can see it better than you can. You’ll start to see some patterns and what stands out to others.
3. Take a personality test (good assessments found here) to see where you excel. For instance, if you find out you’re an introvert, you can learn how introverts tend to be naturally good at cutting to the heart of the matter. That’s a needed talent.
4. Talk to a career coach or life coach who understands how to discover your strengths.
5. It could be that thing you think is awful about you! Your “Worst” Trait Could Be Your Superpower.

Watch out for this…

When you start seeing something that might be a superpower, don’t dismiss it.

It’s typical to say, “That’s no big deal. Anyone could do that. It’s so easy.” Bam, when it’s that easy, it’s likely to be a superpower. It just pours out of you and you can’t even help it or see it as a big deal.

I figured out my superpowers with my coach. I think working with a coach might be the best way to clarify your unique strengths because it’s unbiased by your or your friends’ notions of you. But I might be biased about that since I am a coach and I love helping people clarify this stuff. Ha.

My Superpowers

Here’s a draft I came up with about my superpowers:

• Uncovering and mobilizing your superpowers!
• Helping people feel deeply understood.
• Easily visualizing the fastest path for doing something (also called “strategic thinking”).
• Activator – getting people into action.
• Bringing our hearts to work and all our communications.
• Getting to Aha – today.

I decided to write my superpowers on my About page. You might want to do that with yours too.

Isn’t that what people really want to know before they hire you? They want to know “what makes you so special?”

You can see the list I’m currently using on my About page.

Your Turn!

Are you ready to say what some of your superpowers are in the comments box below? It’s OK to tell us. It can be a brief rough draft. No one will hold you to it. Try it on.

And for extra credit… when you know one or more of your superpowers, consider whether you’re using them to their potential.

If you don’t your superpowers, I invite you to decide how you will figure that out, for homework. (I’m such a teacher, assigning homework to people at large! Yowza. Oh, maybe that teacher habit is a sign of another superpower in me. Hmm.)

If you get stuck…

If you get stuck or if you wonder how this applies to your career path, you’re in good company because most people don’t fully see their superpowers or take the time to explore and find out. You’ll be ahead if you take the time.

Here’s a step-by-step option for knowing your superpowers and how it applies to your work:
Uncover the Best Use of You (Career Clarity Course) – where we talk about your strengths, values, and how it all applies choosing a good path.