Power Up Your Team: How to Identify and Utilize Your Team's Superpowers
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Have you ever felt your team has the potential to go further or do more with their skills, ideas, and talents? You're not alone if you feel the tug of untapped potential waiting to be unleashed. According to a study released by Gloat, close to 50% of respondents said they “wish their employer had a better understanding of their skills,” with women being almost twice as likely as men to report their skills were undervalued (43% versus 24%). So what can we do to ensure we know our team’s skills and properly utilize and engage them to capitalize on their knowledge and experience? The answer is more straightforward than you might think.
Many teams have unique strengths and superpowers waiting to be noticed, valued, and unlocked. The key for leaders is identifying those skills and talents as early as possible and finding creative and engaging ways to leverage those “superpowers” to gain a competitive advantage.
This article explores how to uncover your team's hidden strengths and talents and use them to achieve your goals. From defining your superhero identity to picking your theme song, we'll give you a step-by-step guide to power up your team and create a more prosperous and cohesive unit. So get ready to unlock your team's full potential, but first, a personal anecdote to drive the point home.
Christine’s First Hande Experience
Christine was working on a project for a Canadian financial institution. She realized that the presentation to the executive team would benefit from a motion-graphic style video to articulate the features and benefits of the solution the team was designing. Knowing there was very little budget (or time) for a video production mid-project cycle, Christine raised the gap at a team retrospective, posing the need for a video as something she “wished for” during the I wish, I wonder, I worry exercise you can find in our new Run Effective Retrospectives book available on Amazon.
During the retrospective, a teammate raised their hand and said video creation was a secret passion and something they had been experimenting with for a few months. This person was a business analyst by trade, so naturally, their interest in video creation was not at the forefront of Chrsitine’s mind. Conveniently, the talented individual felt slightly disengaged and fatigued with their daily tasks.
Christine saw this as an opportunity to break the status quo and test out a new storytelling mechanism (video) the team had only dreamt about at that point. Not only did this information about the teammate’s skillset help enhance the project story and presentation, but it also showed the rest of the team the benefits of sharing your interests and hobbies, side hustles, and development aspirations, as there might be a perfect opportunity to try something new and take a step outside the typical workday.
“If you put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there. You must go beyond them. ”
Step 1 | Your Superhero Identity
The first step is to define your superhero identity to harness your team's superpowers. This means pinpointing what makes you and each team member unique. Spending time reflecting on each person's strengths and their relevance to the work at hand will help you get closer to clearly understanding your team's identity. With this knowledge, you can tailor your leadership approach and maximize your impact.
In the next section, we'll show you how to create a visual representation of your superhero identity by drawing your team's logo.
Step 2 | Draw Your Superhero Logo
Now that you clearly understand your team's superhero identity, it's time to create a visual representation. Drawing your team's logo can help solidify your team's identity and give it a recognizable image. Doodling and drawing also bring out new creative sparks and ideas that will help you think even more critically about the team’s superpower and help identify features and skills that make you unique.
Consider the strengths and unique qualities you identified in the previous step when creating your logo. Then, consider incorporating those elements into your design. You can also consider what symbols or images represent your team's mission and values. Your logo doesn't have to be complex or fancy. Sometimes, a simple and memorable design can be more effective. However, it's essential that your logo accurately represents your team and is something that you're proud to showcase. This isn’t meant to be a long, exhaustive exercise. Instead, give everyone the pen and try to build something together. It's ok if it's rough or not MOMA-worthy. It's primarily supposed to represent your team and talents and is for your team's eyes.
Once you have your logo, share it with your team or stakeholders and get feedback. Display it prominently in your workspace and incorporate it into your team's materials and communications. This can help create a sense of unity and purpose among your team members and build a sense of belonging. Activities like this are known to boost team morale and company culture.
Now that you have your superhero logo, you can pick a superpower. In the following section, we'll show you how to identify your team's unique superpower and use it to tackle challenges and achieve your goals.
Christine’s Toolkit - Emoji Stickers: Stickers can articulate emotions and help add personality to a team-building activity.
If you are in person, include a pack of Emoji Stickers in the meeting to help those less visually express themselves by incorporating these images into their logo design.
designACE recommends: PAOPAO 480pcs Emoticon Stickers 10 Sheets Kids Stickers, Scrapbooking Stickers, Happy Face Stickers
Step 3 | Pick a Superpower
Now that your team has a superhero logo to unite under, it's time to pick a superpower. Every team has a unique superpower - whether it be creativity, communication, problem-solving, or any number of other strengths. Identifying your team's superpower is crucial in maximizing your potential and achieving success.
To pick a superpower, take a step back and evaluate your team's strengths and weaknesses. Consider personal skills, areas of expertise, and past successes. What sets your team apart?
Once you have identified your team's superpower, focus on utilizing it to tackle challenges and achieve your goals. You can work more efficiently and effectively toward success by leveraging your team's strengths.
A great activity you can try online or in person is the Superpowers card game by SY Partners. It is a fun tool to help you and your team learn about your superpowers and how to use them to be at your best. The card deck is available in virtual app form (USD 2.99 on IOS or Android) or as a physical deck, you can order (USD 15), and the game is played by using the entire deck and drawing two cards at once.
You must decide which superpower describes you best for each pair of cards. The winning card goes on to the next round, and another card is drawn to compare. The game's object is to get from 21 cards down to one that truly describes your superpower. The company also provides content for each superpower so teams can look deeper into how to utilize their superpower in a group setting best. We highly recommend this tool and have used it over and over.
Here are some other great ways to identify your superpower:
Identify what drives or motivates you and why this gets you going. How you channel your motivators could be a superpower in itself!
Write a list of the things you do well and then rank them in order of importance or what you feel you do best.
Think about your key strengths and find a way to position them in a way that makes you unique. Find a punchy word or statement that resonates with you, or use a tool like Quillbot to paraphrase your definition into a newly formed sentence using AI.
But remember, like superheroes have weaknesses, every team has limitations. In the next section, we'll explore how to identify your team's kryptonite and overcome any obstacles standing in your way.
Step 4 | What is Your Kryptonite?
While it's important to identify and utilize your team's strengths, it's equally essential to acknowledge any weaknesses or limitations hindering progress. Every team has their version of kryptonite, and it's crucial to identify and mitigate those weaknesses to succeed. This step involves assessing and acknowledging areas your team may need help with, such as communication, time management, or project planning.
Here are a few questions you can ask your team to help guide an open discussion:
What skills gaps do we have or foresee having on our team?
If we could hire one more person, what role would we create on our team?
What is preventing us from achieving our goals and objectives?
If you could improve one skill instantly, what would it be and why?
Once you've identified your team's kryptonite, you can work on developing strategies to address those challenges and turn them into strengths. You'll build a more resilient team that can confidently tackle any obstacle by addressing weaknesses head-on. With a clear understanding of your team's strengths and weaknesses, you can move on to the next step: discovering your team's theme song.
Step 5 | What is your theme song?
As much as we need to address our team's weaknesses, we also need to celebrate their strengths and what better way to celebrate than in song? Every team is more than the sum of its parts, each member having unique abilities. Work together to pick a piece (or write your own) that proudly celebrates and declares your superpower strengths. Acknowledging those superpowers and leveraging them to brainstorm ideas, you can discover your team's theme song in a fun and engaging way. It can be an effective way to build camaraderie and unite everyone under a common goal. In addition, a team theme song can motivate and energize the team and enable sharing and bonding of preferences and interests organically.
When choosing your team's theme song, consider your team's personality, mission, and values. You want a song embodying your team's identity and inspiring everyone to work together towards a common goal. It can be an upbeat song that pumps up the team or a melodious tune that helps to relax and focus. The point is to pick something that represents what your team is all about—something you are proud to be part of.
Once you've selected your team's theme song, make it a part of your team's culture. You can play it during team meetings, before starting a project, or whenever you need an energy boost. It can become a rallying cry for your team, reminding everyone why they are working together and what they are fighting for.
By discovering your team's theme song, you are creating an emotional connection among your team members, which can help to foster collaboration, promote accountability, and instill a sense of belonging. So, let your team's music unite you and power your team toward success.
With this step, you've identified your team's strengths and weaknesses and discovered your team's theme song. It's time to assemble these pieces and unleash your team's full potential.
Team Building Game | What's Your Superpower, designACE Premium Template
Templates and Graphics — Created in Canva by designACE
Transform the typical boring office meeting by introducing What's Your Superpower? This premium template is a creative and interactive way to increase team engagement during office meetings, team-building activities, or virtual classes. This fun team-building activity will energize a group and create meaningful connections. It gets your team talking, laughing and enjoying the moment.
This team-building game encourages participants to identify and share their unique strengths with the team. It is especially beneficial for virtual teams since it encourages remote employees to build stronger relationships with one another and enhance their collaboration skills.
Unlock your team's unique strengths by introducing the What's Your Superpower? It's the perfect tool to help you build strong, cohesive teams.
Our 13-page facilitation guide is available exclusively on Etsy and includes the following:
✔️ Activity outline
✔️ Activity Template in PDF. Slide. & Digita whiteboard
✔️ Sample scripts and cues to add to your talk track
✔️ Agendas
✔️ Step-by-step facilitation instructions
✔️ Pro facilitation tips and tricks
✔️ Provoking thought starter and discussion questions
✔️ Premium Templates
✔️ Links to whiteboard & slides
In Conclusion
Harnessing your team's superpowers and celebrating your strengths can increase collaboration, productivity, and success. Identifying each member's strengths can benefit the team and create a positive and inclusive work environment. Look for each other's kryptonite and celebrate your team's victories by blasting your theme song. These steps will power up your unit and soar toward your goals.
