When You Discover Your Capability, You Unlock Your Superpower

Capability is one of the five Cs in my leadership capital framework. A capability is more than a skill that might be listed in a company’s job description. It’s a unique talent that seems to come naturally to you. A capability is the difference between being merely competent and being a shining star. In short, your capability is your superpower.

While pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School, I joined a volunteer consulting organization. I got paired with a couple of social entrepreneurs named Kelly Fitzsimmons and Vanessa Kirsch, who wanted to know how non-profit organizations could scale up.?

It was there that I discovered that my superpower is positively connecting with people. I learned that I could connect the dots between what I knew and what people needed to create results that would not have been possible otherwise.

I tapped into my background in private equity and connected it to strategies that could accelerate growth in the social sector. Our efforts became New Profit, a national venture philanthropy organization that helps raise capital for social entrepreneurs. Over the past 25 years, New Profit has funded hundreds of non-profit organizations that have helped hundreds of thousands of people.

While I had the basic skills of a young MBA student, I saw how my superpower could produce a multiplier effect that could follow a little upfront effort. I also realized that superpowers can also reveal your purpose. When you understand what makes you exceptional, you can more clearly see where your talents could be game-changing. My experience has led me from a purely for-profit investing career to teaching at Harvard Business School and serving as a board member on many non-profit and for-profit organizations.

I challenge you to think about your own capabilities—your own superpowers. Think beyond the routine mechanics of your daily work to the areas where you bring your exceptional talent to bear on problems no one else can seem to solve.?

In my book, The Treasure You Seek, I suggest you ask yourself the following questions to discover your superpower:

• What do you devote your free time to? What kind of work do you gravitate towards, even if you’re not being paid for it??
• What are other people telling you your superpower is? As the saying goes, you might not know your own strength. People might not tell you directly what sets you apart from others. Instead, you might learn from the kinds of work people keep asking you to do.
• What feels effortless to you? Certain tasks are difficult for others that you can do without even thinking about them. You may even get frustrated when other people don’t share your superpower.

Once you have discovered your superpower or identified a few candidates, I would ask if you’re using your capability to the fullest extent possible. If not, what’s standing in your way? You can treat your superpower like a scientific hypothesis. Test it, find its limits, and learn new ways to put it to use.?

Good luck!

Archie