What's your superpower?

I need your help LinkedIn.

I am seeking people who would be willing to share their superpower origin story.

Bear with me as I share a little context.

Last year I had the pleasure of working with 120 sixteen-year-old young men as we considered the topic of the future of work.

The school invited people who are currently working within the innovation and change space to get their perspective on the 21st-century skills which are seen as those skills most desirable when we reach this 'future' we all talk of.

These are the 21st century skills.

My perspective on the future of work with regards to those skills is a little different.

It is not in the future when we need these skills but right now and perhaps we needed them all along.

Those skills are often innate in us as young people and perhaps we simply need to nurture them and help our young people to retain and build on them. Or at least that is my approach to parenting my 3 teenage boys.

So last year I framed my workshop around the theme - what's your superpower.

I then went out to my LinkedIn network last year to ask them for their stories around their unique superpowers. Those stories were then shared on the day to give the boys real time examples of why these skills are valuable and how they were valuable all along.

The stories ranged from an entrepreneur whose superpower to blend in and connect was born out of childhood bullying to a business coach whose skills were born out of his ability to captain sporting teams.

I shared my own story of my evolving superpowers that started in school. My superpower was one of questioning the status quo. Of always asking why we continue to do something 'just because'. And that particular superpower wasn't one my teachers liked, but it is now the most highly valued skill as I continued to package and re-package my value. Showing the boys that your best powers may not always be what people like.

All of the stories shared how the superpowers they had in high school were often the ones that ended up making them successful in their chosen careers. 

So why, superpowers? 

I am not a superhero fan by any means despite having three teenage boys. I do imagine, however, that Superman wasn't so unique on Krypton (superman fans feel free to fact check me!). It was only when Superman was needed and when he came to earth that his powers became special.

So those unique skills we have only become special when in the right situation where they can be used to be of service to something or someone else. With the boys last year, we used the UN sustainability goals as a framework to apply our skills now and see how those superpowers might be of value. To consider as a group which goals we could align our superpowers to. 

So this is where I need your help again.

I have been invited back to the school to run the same workshop again to a new cohort and I want it to be even bigger.

I need your stories!

Please jump in and share your story via the link.