Animating our passions, struggles, and ordinary days is our core motivation. Your core motivation is your reason for being and for doing. What is your “why”? Of course, we all have external factors that drive us to perform--we all have people who depend on us. But your core motivation is different. It’s internal--intrinsic. If, after a difficult pandemic year, you’re having trouble finding your core motivation, how can you find it?
Troy Campbell, brilliant behavioral psychologist and my good friend, says that your origin story may provide some clues. “Behind that idea of an origin story,” Troy says, “is not that a moment changed me. It’s that a moment revealed me.” Think of your favorite superhero; they all have an origin story that explains their inevitable greatness. It provides a basis for their values, their reason for being who they are. What might you find in yours?
Troy and I had a fascinating conversation on superpowers. When we connected superpowers and storytelling, he said, “It’s fascinating how many people are unaware of what they’re good at.”
If, at the heart of your origin story is your core motivation, you might also find your superpower. Your superpower is your innate, intrinsic, inimitable gift. Take Spiderman’s origin story.
In it, we don’t learn why he’s a spider; we learn about his Uncle Ben. Peter Parker’s origin story doesn’t reveal his superpower to be his spidey senses. His superpower is his encompassing love for justice and others. His superpower is integral to his origin story.
Here are three questions to ask yourself as you craft your own origin story.
How would you describe yourself in three facts?
What three events in your life changed you irrevocably?
Who are three people in your life that made an impact on you?
Once you’ve written down answers to these questions, does a story emerge? How have the facts, events, and people in your life contributed to a narrative understanding of your place in the world? Through story form, you can articulate why you do what you do. And in the process of that articulation, you can show yourself your superpower.
I am SO EXCITED to launch this new MIT Sloan Management Review coaching column!!! In the print issues and also via digital, I'll share actionable insights and perspectives to help you best prepare for the leader that your team needs you to be and become.
But don't expect a singular perspective from me. As you've seen in my LinkedIn video advice interviews with effective leaders, what I share will be from patterns of excellence that I see from my work at Duke University and coaching/advising C-suite executives across tech, venture, sports, corporate and privately held PE and family businesses. It'll also include the wisdom of amazing leaders.
The question we will address in the Dec 7th print issue is:
Q: I'm in a new C-suite role and struggling with my predecessor's long shadow. I'm doubting my ability to match their great results, or to ever be as respected by employees. How do I stop my predecessor taking up residence in my head and second-guessing my decisions?
I seek your thoughts on how you would answer it. We are smarter together. We can lead into better futures, together.
MIT Sloan Management Review has a legacy of helping leaders and business executives navigate an increasingly complex world with its pulse on relevance, innovative thinking, practical advice, and academic research. I am so so proud to partner with them - my brilliant editor Elizabeth Heichler and the MIT Sloan Management Review team.
Share your questions here or email me at asksanyin@mit.edu
Who Will You Be? (Dialogue Review)
The big question that lingers throughout all of our lives: who do I want to be? In order for us to keep the construction of our identities clear through life's many uncertainties, we need to constantly be in touch with our inner selves, which sometimes is easier said than done. In this reflective 600 word piece for Dialogue, I explore the mental habits I've learned from my many years of working with leaders, and how "we can still choose our endgame, pick the memories we make, and determine how we grow."
Dialogue Review is published by Duke Corporate Education, recently ranked by Financial Times as the #1 corporate education provider in N. America. A premier leadership and management journal featuring insights from the world's leading minds and corporations, it reaches 1 million readers globally.
Thank you for reading this issue of Leadership Playbook: Unleashing Your Superpowers! A reason for me in writing this newsletter is to refine the ideas that I’m working on. But I need your help. To do that best, I’d love to know what question you may have on each issue, or how it applies to your situation. Please email me at CoachSanyin@gmail.com and share your feedback with me. THANK YOU!
And superpowers builds on my earlier work - The Launch Book. I believe the hero of every book is the reader. So, going forward, I’ll share a picture with you from a reader of The Launch Book.
“Dream jobs are more often created than found , so they’re rarely attainable through conventional searches. Creating one requires strong self-knowledge.”― Alex Osterwalder, Thinkers50 Top Management Thinkers and one of the world’s most brilliant innovation experts, inventor of the Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas, and Business Portfolio Map