Other superpowers might have been more practical. There have been many times when I wish I’d had the gift of becoming invisible, for example, like Johnny’s more sensible (and annoying) older sister Susan. But whatever superpower you hanker after, you’re usually going to want it to give you an advantage.

Keeping it Real

Real world superpowers? Well, they might not immediately spring to mind. They’re certainly not going to be as dramatic as the whole fireball thing. But the superpower metaphor does capture the imagination, particularly when you’re looking at how organizations and teams perform.

In December 2023, McKinsey released their report, “What matters most? Eight CEO priorities for 2024.” And at number four was a question, “What’s your superpower?”

If you read it when it came out, I’m going to bet that a lot of you clicked on that one first. I know I did.

Once More, From the Top

Sound a bit worthy and uninteresting? A bit “Susan”? Not a bit of it. Institutional capability means being able to do a particular thing so well that it gives your organization a significant advantage over your competitors.

That thing can and usually does involve a combination of processes, people and smart tech. The examples in the McKinsey report are upscale: a supply chain in the MedTech industry and an IT revolution in a Latin American bank. So how can you, as a manager, contribute to developing your organization’s superpower?

The reality is that for large organizations, this kind of change usually needs to come from the top. McKinsey identifies two kinds of institutional capability.

Not All Superpowers Are Equal

First, there are functional capabilities, which involve the core activities that an organization carries out day-to-day.

The MedTech supply chain was an example. The system in place to deliver a basic part of the organization’s business was not as good as its competitors. So the senior management transformed the entire structure of the process, invested in tech, and turned supply chain management, a pretty dry function, into a superpower.

Second, there are enterprise-wide capabilities. These are the skills that exist within all areas of the business. They’re not limited to one function. They include customer focus, decision making, and project management. Making these aspects of the business into superpowers requires a near-complete culture change.

Either way, they’re hard-hitting initiatives that need to originate in the C-suite. Not much there for junior and middle managers, you’d think.

Positive Intentions

As I read the report, I was put in mind of a book I read a while back. It was “Net Positive,” by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston. It recounted the story of Polman’s decade as the CEO of Unilever, a mighty household brands corporation that had stagnated.

Between 2009 and 2019, Polman’s vision became to reconnect Unilever with its history as a socially aware organization with a mission and a purpose. The company had started out selling soap, promoting cleanliness and its health benefits to ordinary working people. Now under Polman, it set out to become a business that gave back more than it took out, for all its stakeholders, from raw material producers to end consumers.

Polman set out to separate Unilever's growth from its environmental footprint. He introduced the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), a company-wide initiative that aligned with the United Nations Global Goals on Sustainable Development.

A huge and ambitious undertaking, to be sure. But what really struck me was the way in which Polman made it work at every level of the many Unilever businesses.

The goal was to make an enterprise-wide capability shift to show customers that the businesses were sustainable and socially engaged. And everyone in these many businesses was required to demonstrate what they were doing to deliver the USLP. Everyone.

Building From the Basics

So, although building an enterprise-wide capability needs to be driven from the top, it involves people at all levels. And I think that the types of change are scalable.

Polman and Winston mention a lot of terms that are crucial to building an engaged, motivated team at any level and in any functional area: trust, authenticity, purpose, and transparency.

Enacting these aspects of a company culture doesn’t need to wait for an edict from the C-suite. Good managers will already be working to make them happen. And outstanding teams can help to raise the performance of entire organizations.

That’s a pretty good aspiration for any team manager. It may not be as spectacular as turning yourself into a living firework, but (sadly?) we don’t live in comic books. We do, though, all have a responsibility to the people we work with, and to the businesses we work for, to build excellence as part of the DNA.

“Flame on!” as Johnny used to say.

What's Next?

This piece touched on some pretty big ideas. At first glance, those ideas might not appear to have much to do with your day-to-day activities. But when you boil it down to its essentials, capability really grows throughout an organization, and needs to engage everyone. So why not get a head start?

Check out our resources on Authentic Leadership, Coping With Change and The EFQM Excellence Model for more ideas on how to build team and organizational superpowers.

Tip of the Week

Bridge the Communication Gap

By Keith Jackson, Mind Tools Managing Editor

Clear communication from senior management to your team is crucial for alignment and motivation. As a manager, it’s your role to translate the broader vision and goals into actionable tasks for your team. Here are some simple steps for doing just that:

• Ensure you understand the objectives and expectations from senior leadership by asking detailed questions and seeking clarification when needed.
• Then, communicate this information to your team in a clear, concise and relatable manner.
• Use regular updates, team meetings, and written summaries to reinforce key points.

By effectively bridging this communication gap, you empower your team to understand their role in the bigger picture, which enhances focus, accountability, motivation, and overall performance.

For more information on how to communicate effectively, watch our video, 6 Steps of the Communication Cycle.

Pain Points Podcast

This week’s episode of Pain Points is all about goal setting with your team. How do you ensure motivation, commitment, and agreement when setting team goals? Can you make them joyful, even?

Find out by listening to this week’s episode of your exclusive Mind Tools podcast, only for members.

Subscribe Today.

News Roundup

This Week's Global Workplace Insights

Don't Fritter Away Your Fridays!

Friday afternoons can see dips in productivity and even work quality. But global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry has offered up a number of simple steps to flip your thinking and make the last working day of the week your most productive. Here are three to get you started:

1. Plan your week on Monday: write your schedule down and hold yourself accountable.
2. Harness tech to boost productivity: use a calendar tool to batch similar tasks together and diarize time on Fridays to ensure task completion.
3. Carve out time for self-development: Fridays can be a quieter day for many, making it an excellent time to focus on boosting your skills.

AI Latest: "All Your Base Are Belong to Us!"

Kicking back a bit on a Friday could end up being the least of our worries as alarm bells continue to sound about the rapid advances in artificial intelligence.

The Guardian is reporting that “the world is ill-prepared for breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.” What’s the panic this time? AI stealing our jobs... deepfakes interfering in elections...? Nope, think bigger!

25 AI experts are warning governments that unfettered AI that can autonomously act and pursue goals may soon massively amplify its impact, “with risks that include large-scale social harms... an irreversible loss of human control over autonomous AI systems... and the marginalization or extinction of humanity.”

Yeah, knocking off at four on Friday doesn’t seem so bad now!

What Price an Office Romance? About £32 Million!

There are plenty of pitfalls in embarking on an office romance – our own article lists a fair few of them – and, according to the BBC, it cost former BP chief exec Bernard Looney more than £32 million in lost earnings and bonuses.

As a result, BP this month told its 4,500 managers to ‘fess up to any intimate relationships "whether or not they feel they represent a conflict of interest" or face disciplinary action under tight new rules.

The company said its tough new conflict of interest policy was introduced “to reflect the influence that leaders have.”

See you next week for more member-exclusive content and insight from the Mind Tools team!