From Misfit to Unstoppable: Awaken Your Career Superpowers

There have been many times in my career when I felt like a complete misfit—just that little bit lost and misunderstood.

The problem was I didn't know what I was good at. Maybe you can relate to that feeling of being stagnant with zero clarity about what you want to do next.

I felt out of place, like there was something off. Sometimes, people just didn't get me. Looking back, I was young and didn't really understand much about myself and who I was. But those were the genuine feelings I experienced at the time. Prefer to listen to the podcast....

The Game-Changing Moment

Then came the moment that changed everything.

Just over 10 years ago, I took the CliftonStrengths assessment. This tool was developed over 50 years of research, with over 1 million interviews conducted with the world's most successful people to create this assessment.

When I got my results back and read my report, my innate talents came into sharp focus.

I can't tell you how many years I spent scanning myself and hunting for answers to "What am I great at? What makes me special?"

From this moment on, things just started to make sense.

What I thought made me a misfit actually made me exceptional. This included:

• My ability to see patterns and trends that others couldn't

• Coming up with solutions and new ideas at lightning speed

• Easily identifying the talents of people within my team

• My ability to work people out really quickly, sometimes knowing more about people than they knew about themselves

  
  

Many people misunderstood me because I was often three steps ahead in my thinking. I was proposing crazy ideas, that I was really certain, comfortable and confident about what I was putting forward. This was all driven by my strategic thinking talents—I have four of them in my top 10. It's how I think, it's how I behave, it's the essence of who I am.

The Power of Self-Discovery

Understanding my strengths wasn't just life-changing—it was career-defining. I couldn't have achieved my second career transition without this knowledge. That's exactly why I always start with strengths when working with any of my new clients. It's the foundation to absolutely everything I coach.

Here's what will blow your mind: According to Gallup, we are unique to the power of one in 33 million people. That's how many people in the world share your top five talent combination. That's not just unique—that's extraordinary.

The Three Most Common Career Superpowers

Let me share the three most frequently seen talents in people's top five worldwide:

1. Achiever - The Completion Superpower

Achievers are checklist obsessed (I can vouch for this with my Achiever at number six). This isn't about needing to win—it's about getting to the finish line, getting things done. When you make it to the end, you get this sense of fulfilment and accomplishment.

If you love the endorphin rush of ticking items off your to-do list, you likely have Achiever. These individuals have an internal fire that generates incredible productivity. Every day, they wake up starting at zero and need to complete a certain number of meaningful tasks daily to feel fulfilled.

2. Responsibility - The Reliability Superpower

People with responsibility talent are committed to honesty, loyalty, and delivering on their commitments. What's different compared to Achiever is that those with Responsibility take psychological ownership beyond just regular ownership, and they commit wholeheartedly to deliver whatever they say they're going to do.

If you have Responsibility, others will always trust you to get things done. You're that person everybody comes to because they know you're dependable.

3. Learner - The Growth Superpower

Learner is about constantly striving to learn, and it's not about accumulating credentials and degrees—it's about the feeling you get in the process of learning. It excites and energizes you.

Learners love being thrown in the deep end, starting new projects, beginning a new job, or working in an industry where things change a lot. They're early adopters who thrive on change and new experiences.

The Three Rarest Career Superpowers

These talents are rarely seen in people's top five, making those who possess them part of a somewhat exclusive group:

1. Command - The Leadership Superpower

Command talent is very direct and completely comfortable being in the driver's seat. These individuals naturally take control of situations and push back when necessary. They thrive on challenges and conflicts, and when things seem out of control, they'll step in and bring stability. In crisis situations, everybody looks to Command for direction and decision-making.

2. Self-Assurance - The Confidence Superpower

This is about internal confidence in your ability to take risks and manage your own life. You have an inner compass that gives you certainty in the decisions you make. You seek to influence rather than be influenced. They possess a strong appetite for risk-taking and independent decision-making.

3. Significance - The Impact Superpower

Significance talent drives people to want to make a big impact in the world, their organisation, their life, or their local community. They prioritise projects based on how much influence they can have over the organisation or people around them.

They are natural performers who are comfortable in the spotlight and bring out their best when they have an audience.

Designing Your Ideal Work Life

Remember, the talents I've described might not be yours. Your combination will be unique to you—that one in 33 million combination that makes you extraordinary.

The key is not to compare yourself to others, but to discover your unique combination and focus on developing it infinitely. This is about designing your ideal work life by leaning into what you are great at, instead of spending time fixing your weaknesses.

The Secret Most People Miss

After coaching hundreds of people, here's what I know for sure: Very few of us know and own what we are great at. The reason? You've lived with these innate talents all your life, so you assume everybody thinks, behaves, and feels just like you.

I'm here to tell you that you can do things with ease and flow that others cannot—and you don't even realise it. This is what I absolutely love about my job: helping you realize this. It's simply magical.

Your Superpowers Are Waiting

You can develop your top five talents infinitely. Knowing your strengths changes everything—you'll be more confident about yourself and the value you bring. You'll step up and get involved when you know your strengths could add value in certain situations.

The world needs to benefit from what you can do exceptionally well. You already have everything you need to stand out. You were born with these talents, and they make you unique.

The next step is to own them, then develop them, and finally aim them toward your goals and dreams. Don't focus on what other people are doing—that's completely irrelevant to your journey.

From Misfit to Unstoppable

Your superpowers are waiting to be awakened. The question isn't whether you have them—it's whether you're ready to discover and develop them.

The real magic happens when you stop trying to be like everyone else and embrace who you truly are. Your talents, developed and applied, don't just change your life.

They become your contribution to making the world a better place.

Are you ready to awaken your superpowers?

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Unearth your Superpowers   |   Design the Work Life you Want

Find a Job with Meaning   |   Feel Joy at work  |  Regain Balance in Life

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Work is being reimagined...

The question isn’t if change is coming—it’s how you’ll navigate it.

The future is yours to define.

That’s where I come in. Through a powerful blend of Strengths, Executive, and Career Coaching, I help professionals not just adapt, but thrive.

The workplace is transforming.

With 59% of employees quietly disengaged and 18% actively seeking an exit (Gallup, 2023), job dissatisfaction is at an all-time high.

You already have unique talents—sometimes, they just need to be uncovered.

With the right coaching, skills and knowledge you can turn those talents into strengths, fuelling the confidence to embrace career shifts and workplace change with clarity and purpose.

Empowering you to design your work future.

I’m Binny Langler, your lead coach, dedicated to helping individuals and teams thrive. Founder & Director of The Inkling Effect, with over 20 years of experience coaching professionals to discover and apply their unique strengths to create more

fulfilling and meaningful work.

A certified Executive, Gallup Global Strengths Coach & Career Change Coach - with a Masters of Entrepreneurship & Innovation.