#1-#5 Snapshot of five mindset coaching superpowers for leading teams

Hi, we’re Helen Zink and Dr Cathryn Lloyd. We work closely with leaders and teams, and we know leaders face an array of challenges. Over the past few weeks we’ve been sharing  coaching superpowers for leaders to experiment with.

Below is a summary of five mindset superpowers: How you think and show up as a leader.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks for more superpowers focused on behaviour: What you do, your actions.

⭐ Superpower 1: self-awareness

The foundation that powers all other superpowers. It’s about understanding who you are, what drives you, and recognising your triggers. It’s the ability to pause and respond thoughtfully, rather than reacting without awareness and the potential impact.

⭐ Superpower 2: curiosity

Stimulates growth, innovation, exploration, learning, and collaborative problem-solving. It creates a culture where every voice is heard and valued, encourages collaboration and deeper human connection.

⭐ Superpower 3: character

The foundation of trust, integrity, and consistency. Leaders with strong character and a clear moral compass inspire confidence, and help to create a culture of psychological safety, and positive impact. 

⭐ Superpower 4: flexibility

Needed to stay effective and resilient in a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment. Being curious (see superpower 2), adaptable 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. It creates psychological safety, strengthens alignment, and underpins innovation.

Our top 3 insights: 

💡 Self-awareness is the cornerstone of leadership - it influences all other superpowers by enabling thoughtful responses, emotional intelligence, and a deeper understanding of impact.

💡 Curiosity and flexibility drive growth - a curious and adaptable mindset encourages learning, collaboration, and resilience in an ever-changing world.

💡 Character and candour build trust - integrity, authenticity, and open communication create psychological safety, alignment, and a positive team culture.

🩷 We’d love to hear how you are experimenting and applying these ideas.

Image: Cathryn Lloyd

Massey MBA fun!!!!

Great to be working with Patricia Bossons PhD CPsychol and the current MBA cohort at Massey University last week - talking about the importance of teams and strengths in teams. (Wish I had the someone come talk about this when I was doing my MBA - those group assignments were a nightmare!)

Such a fun group - good luck with your studies everyone!

#5 Candour – A coaching superpower for leading teams

Hi, we’re Helen Zink and Dr Cathryn Lloyd. We work closely with leaders and teams, and we know that leaders face an array of challenges. We’re sharing a series of 10 coaching superpowers for leaders to experiment with.

We’ve broken them down into two categories:

5 Mindset superpowers: How you think and show up.

5 Behavioural superpowers: What you do, your actions.

These superpowers often blend together.

⭐ Superpower 5: candour

Authentic and vulnerable leadership is important in fostering an environment of learning, innovation, and accountability in teams. Amy Edmondson’s research on psychological safety highlights that teams thrive when members feel safe to speak openly, without fear of blame or judgment. Brené Brown reinforces this idea, emphasising that leaders who communicate with honesty and transparency create trust and alignment. 

A few ways to model candour:

💡 Share openly - with honesty, kindness and empathy. 

💡 Give others direct, constructive and respectful feedback - reflect how your feedback can help the other person.

💡 Invite others to do the same.

💡 Clear communication provides clarity - clear is kind.

This superpower is linked to superpower one, self-awareness. Role modeling candour demands both a high level of self-awareness and intentionality.

📌 Practical tip - straight talk sessions

Create structured opportunities for open dialogue. First set simple ground rules - feedback must be constructive, specific, and focused on solutions.  Then ask:

“What’s one thing we could improve as a team?”

“Is there anything I’m not seeing as a leader that we should discuss?”

By consistently making space for honest conversations, leaders normalise candour as part of the team culture.  Stay tuned as we share more coaching superpowers. 

We’d love to hear how you are experimenting and applying these ideas.

Image: Cathryn Lloyd