Superpower skills every employee needs to succeed

Superpowers and secret lairs full of gadgets may be beyond reach, but there is much to learn from our superhero friends when it comes to our careers and the workplace. Every kid wants to grow up to be a superhero. It’s the ultimate dream. Being able to fly, have supervision, conjure fire, fight the bad guys, and save the world would be the absolute coolest job in the world. Although you may not have these exact superpowers, there are a number of ways you can draw upon these heroes for guidance when it comes to your career.

Every superhero needs a team
No (super)man is alone in their battle to face the evil forces. Batman has Alfred, Spider-Man has Aunt May and Flash has Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon. Every workplace hero needs a support team, whether that's a mentor, manager, or colleague to help you brainstorm ideas.

It’s important to be flexible and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each team member in order to deliver on your objectives. One of the benefits of strong teamwork in the workplace is that team leaders and members become adept at dividing up tasks so they are done by the most qualified people.

Staying Calm
You might not be faced with monsters, metahumans, aliens, or evil men wanting to destroy mankind, your planet, or your city but the reality is that today's business world is a place of constant pressure and complexity. To be successful and take the next step in your career, we can't ignore or run away from stress. We need to learn how to thrive within it and the better you are at handling the fire, the easier time you'll have moved up on the career ladder.

Research has shown that people who welcome the challenge of a crisis and rather see it as an exciting challenge, perform far better than those who try to force themselves to be calm. Staying composed, focused, and effective under pressure are all about your mentality. People who successfully manage crises are able to channel their emotions into producing the productive behavior that they want.

Negotiations
Everyone should be a good negotiator. Truth be told, Batman and Superman could do with some training in negotiation skills as they always end up in some epic battle or dual with an arch enemy. 

Being able to negotiate effectively helps you reach agreements, achieve objectives, get along better with people, and ultimately be more productive and successful on the job. People often think negotiation is just about a method of getting their way. But it's much more than that. It's really all about how we get along with other people. By focusing on the needs of the other side, each party can get more of what they want and there is simply a bigger potential pie for everybody.

Ethics & Wisdom
Spiderman is one of those superheroes who tend to go against villains who are, in their own ways, more powerful than he is. But he does so anyway because it doesn't matter that he's likely to lose; what matters is that people need saving, and he is the one called to save them. Recognizing the responsibilities power brings is one step in being a superhero, but the responsibilities required by our powers have more to do with our use of those powers.

These days news reports of corruption and misplaced work ethics have become common. It started with the 2008 financial crisis and recession that has since tested people's faith in business leaders. Recently revelations around the Panama Papers highlight this once again. 

Good ethics make good business sense. Every company stands to profit from a reputation for acting with honesty and integrity. The same can be said for your career. Having a reputation for excellence and being thought of as someone who exhibits professionalism under any circumstances can open doors for you either in the workplace or in your personal ambition.

If you need assistance in understanding and identifying the superpowers you have to help you succeed in your career. We can assist. Communicate Recruitment is a candidate-focused recruitment agency: our primary intention is to create a lifelong connection with our great candidates.

Whether you are a candidate urgently looking for a new job or somebody looking to form a long-term career-building partnership, contact us. Communicate Personnel can connect you with Top Employers while assisting you to map both long and short-term career objectives and advise you on what steps to take to reach your ultimate career goal.