5 steps to move from Sidekick to Superhero

For most of my career, I was under the impression; I was the Wonder Women of IT, getting accolades and promotion for everything I did. Then one day the promotions stopped the accolades not as glorious. I found myself struggling, as my once skyrocketing career flat lined. 

 I discovered I hadn’t been the Superhero that I thought I was.  In reality, I was a pretty amazing Sidekick to a great set of Superheroes.   I had a big problem though my Superheroes left the company leaving me with a new leader, who was not interested in a new sidekick.  I discovered I was a Sidekick without a Superhero. 

After much anger and angst, I realized if my career was going to go anywhere, I needed to step out of the shadows and become a Superhero.  I discovered a lot about myself and uncovered a five step process that helped me succeed in my quest for a more rewarding career.   Here are the five steps.

Step 1: Supersize your Strengths
The Sidekick has many strengths and skill. Yet the Sidekick seems to never quite reach her full potential.  To become a Superhero you need to invest at being the best at what they do. You need to invest in maximizing your strengths to become an expert in your role.

Step 2:  Front and Center
The Sidekick is fine with the Superhero taking the lead while backing the Superhero up from the shadows. But face it; you are in the shadows because it is safer there.  To become a Superhero you need to lead from the front and center, initiate the discussion, express your ideas, and take ownership.

Step 3:  Slay the Villain
The Sidekick needs the Superhero at their side to defeat the villain. In the business world the villain can take on many forms, a bully, a tough project, a hard decision but they all boil down to confronting your own fears. To become a Superhero you need to face and defeat the villain.

Step 4:  Create a New Super Powers
 If you are going to supersize your strengths, sit front and center, and slay the villains, you are going to need some new super powers.  No one is going to hand you a magic but you can create super powers. To become a Superhero you need to build new skills to add to your utility belt, learn how your company’s financials work, become a great communicator or master the latest hot technology.

Step 5: Inspire Others
Most importantly the Superhero never does it by themselves they bring their friends with them Buffy and her Scooby gang or Frodo and Fellowship of the Ring.  To become a Superhero inspire others to be great, own your mistakes, be humble grow more Superheroes.

Laying out the steps is easy. Making them real is the hard.

In future blogs I will share more details about each of the 5 steps. I hope you share your experiences as well so we can learn from each other.