“These are a few of my favourite things…”

Mountains, snow, glaciers, ice, and salmon (not pictured) are definitely my favourite things and I’ve been indulging in them big-time the last few days. 

I’m making the most of the region after spending the weekend at a wellbeing retreat in Tekapo. 

One area heavily emphasised over the weekend was nature – the awe, freshness, shape, smell, sound and even light of it. And I'm in the right place to indulge. This part of the country is a stark contrast to my everyday life mid-city - man-made objects, hard edged shapes, bright lights and sound pollution. 

Back in the city I'm very conscious of the environment and often work with clients outside (circumstance permitting). It opens up the senses and triggers different neural connections. 

If you’d like to find ways to build connection with nature into you, or your team’s, everyday routine, get in touch. Give it a try!

Snapshot of 10 coaching superpowers for leading teams

Hi, we’re Helen Zink and Dr. Dr Cathryn Lloyd. We partner closely with leaders and teams, and we understand the array of challenges leaders face. Over the past few weeks, we've shared 10 (plus a bonus 11th) coaching superpowers for leaders to experiment with. We’ve highlighted why these superpowers are essential in today’s complex and unpredictable world and provided actionable insights to help you apply them, whether for yourself or with your team.

The attached infographic summarises all superpowers - we hope you find it useful. Feel free to download it and use it as a visual reminder.

 Here’s a snapshot of all 11:

⭐ Superpower 1: self-awareness

The foundation that powers all other superpowers - understanding who you are, what drives you, and recognising your triggers. 

⭐ Superpower 2: curiosity

Stimulates growth, innovation, exploration, learning, and collaborative problem-solving.

⭐ Superpower 3: character

Trust, integrity, and consistency. Leaders with strong character create a culture of psychological safety, and positive impact.

⭐ Superpower 4: flexibility

To stay effective and resilient in a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment and thinking “what is possible”.

⭐ Superpower 5: candour

Authentic and vulnerable leadership is essential for establishing trust, accountability, and a culture of learning within teams.

⭐ Superpower 6: sensing

Actively picking up on signals, patterns, and dynamics in the environment, anticipate change, and enable proactive rather than reactive decision-making.

⭐ Superpower 7: learning

Encouraging reflection, feedback loops, knowledge sharing, and normalising failure.

⭐ Superpower 8: linking

Noticing and linking dots, understanding context and systems, embracing diverse perspectives, and encouraging innovation. 

⭐ Superpower 9: resourcing

Recognising potential, advocating, clearing obstacles, and tapping into networks to create opportunities.

⭐ Superpower 10: resiliency 

Bouncing back from setbacks, adapting to new challenges, and maintaining focus in changing environments.

⭐ Bonus superpower 11:  investing

Developing superpowers requires sustained investment of time and energy.  Allocating some current resource to enable maximisation of future resources. 

If you would like to know more, we’ve created a superpower guide with extended content. For your complimentary copy, please email Cathryn (cathryn@maverickminds.com.au) or Helen (helen@growtobe.co.nz).  It’s free to “good homes”. 

Superpowers infographic.pdf

Download PDF • 2.91MB

Investing - making the most of coaching superpowers!

My colleague Dr Cathryn Lloyd and I work closely with leaders and teams, and we know leaders face an array of challenges. Over the past few weeks we’ve shared 10 coaching superpowers for leaders to experiment with - 5 mindset superpowers, how your thinking shapes how you show up and 5 behavioural superpowers, what you do and your actions as a leader.

To make the most of these, you need one more critical superpower...

⭐ Bonus superpower 11. Investing

Superpowers aren’t developed overnight. They require a sustained investment of time and energy. Valuing these mindsets and behaviours is an ongoing process of embedding new skills into everyday work life through - learning, experimenting and practicing. 

To make this stick, superpower development needs to become a core part of your team’s culture. This means allocating some of your current resources, time, budget, energy, and focus to build future capabilities that will be crucial for you and your team’s long-term success. 

Ways to maximise investment in coaching superpowers 

💡 Dedicate time - Set aside regular time, weekly or monthly, to step out of business-as-usual and focus on building superpowers. 

💡 Daily routines - Weave superpowers into everyday team life. Include them in meeting agendas, team rituals, minutes, and follow-up actions. 

💡 Reviews - Evaluate progress regularly. Use team meetings or performance  conversations to reflect on how well superpowers are being developed. 

💡 Measure and track - Use tangible metrics to monitor progress. For example, track team resilience, collaboration scores, or feedback loops. 

💡 Professional support - Get support from a professional coach or team coach to help bring superpowers to life in a structured and supportive way. 

📌 Practical tip – making the invisible visible with a team coach 

A team coach can help your team see what they can’t see themselves— hidden habits and blind spots that shape how you work together. 

Let’s say your team is focusing on superpower 8: bringing in diverse perspectives. A team coach might observe a subtle pattern and say:

“I’m noticing that when someone offers a different perspective, the conversation quickly shifts or gets shut down. What might be happening here?” 

This gentle observation invites the team to:

📌 Pause and reflect. 

📌 Notice what’s going on beneath the surface. 

📌 Experiment with new ways of engaging. 

📌 Practice superpowers in real time.

In this way, the coach acts like a mirror, helping the team grow together with greater awareness and intention. Team and individual coaches can support superpower development in many more ways. 

We’d love to hear how you’re applying these ideas. Share your thoughts with us or get in touch - we’d love to continue the conversation.

Stay tuned as we bring all coaching superpowers together over coming weeks.

Image: Cathryn Lloyd