Like many people, my favorite part of Superbowl Sunday is the commercials. This year’s Volkswagen commercial, The Force, featuring a six-year old dressed up as Darth Vader working on his superpowers, really grabbed my attention (see video below). I loved this kid’s (Junior Darth Vader) tenacity, working all day trying to get a rise out of everything from the dog, to a doll, to the exercise bike. I can relate. As a leader, we’re often called upon to use our “superpowers” many times a day-only to find that they don’t always work the way we’d hoped. We work to motivate John to get him more engaged with his work, we coach Karen on her communication skills, and we work with the sales staff in hopes of getting them to bring in more revenue. But often times all of this feels in vain, as if we can’t draw on the powers that allegedly got us in our leadership position in the first place. It can feel exhausting, defeating and wearing on our self-confidence.
And then, out of the blue-BAM-there’s a spark, a jumpstart in our leadership abilities. Something clicks and POOF-we’re back in the groove. We’ve got our leadership mojo back. We all have these times as leaders where it feels we’ve lost our superpowers. But it’s important as Junior Darth Vader teaches us, to keep trying, stay the course, be tenacious and keep looking for new opportunities to use our “superpowers”. Something good is bound to happen.
It’s also important to remember that it’s the people supporting us, those with the “automatic starters” who are the most influential in helping us get back on track, regaining our self-confidence and helping us refocus on our vision and mission. So the next time you question the power of your “superpowers” remember, keep trying, be tenacious, let those who want to help, help you… and you just may surprise yourself!!
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