The Leadership Superpower You Already Have

Your weirdness isn't a weakness to overcome—it's a strength to embrace. Lead like you.

Blog 2:The Leadership Superpower You Already Have

Why Your Quirks Are Really Your Strengths

There’s a secret about courageous leadership--your so-called "weaknesses" and quirky personality traits could be your greatest leadership assets! While everyone else is trying to fit into some cookie-cutter leadership mold, the most effective educational leaders are those who are brave enough to lead authentically as themselves—quirks and all.

What do I mean? Here are some examples. Maybe you're the department chair who remembers everyone's birthday because details matter to you, and you believe celebrating people is important. Or you’re the principal who gives the best pep talks in the parking lot at 6:30 AM because you're naturally a morning person and love sharing your enthusiasm. Perhaps you're the superintendent who draws stick figures on whiteboards during presentations because visual thinking is how your brain works.

Traditional leadership advice suggests we should minimize our quirks and maximize our conventional strengths, but the most memorable, effective educational leaders do the opposite. They lean into what makes them unique, and they turn their "weird" traits into leadership superpowers that no one else can replicate.

Consider some unconventional leadership traits that create extraordinary impact:  the "overly emotional" leader who cries at graduation ceremonies connects with families in ways that formal speeches never could. The "scattered" leader who jumps between ideas often sparks innovation that linear thinkers miss. The "perfectionist" leader who obsesses over details creates systems that prevent small problems from becoming major crises. "True Leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed... Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection" (Sheryl Sandberg, 2014).

Your quirks aren't bugs in your leadership operating system—they're features that make you memorable, relatable, and effective in ways that traditional leadership styles don’t touch. When you try to lead like someone else, you rob your organization of the unique value that only you can bring. AND you make yourself miserable. You be you!

The courage to lead authentically means giving yourself permission to be fully yourself in your leadership role. It means amplifying your natural strengths rather than apologizing for them. It means recognizing that your different perspective, unusual approach, or unconventional style might be exactly what your students, staff, and community need.

Stop trying to be the leader you think you should be and start being the leader you are. Your organization needs your specific brand of leadership genius, complete with all the quirks that make it uniquely yours.

Your weirdness isn't a weakness to overcome—it's a strength to embrace. Lead like you.