What Do You Do Better Than Everyone Else?

When teaching a class on leadership to a group of graduate students, I posed this question, what do you do better than everyone else?  They hated it, so I followed up by asking it on their final exam.  Despite the fact that a significant portion of their grade would be based on the final, some of the students simply used the opportunity to complain about the question, or in two cases, to flat out refuse to answer it.

It's not that their protestations were without merit.  Their central argument was that it was impossible to answer the question, simply because they were not acquainted with everyone else on the globe, and therefore, couldn't make such a bold supposition that their unique talent was, in fact, unique.

But I feel differently - we all have things we bring to the table and though we may share traits and talents, we manifest them in different ways.  And if we want to leverage our key strength - the thing that we do better than everyone else - we have to be boldly willing to name it.  I like the phrasing of the question precisely because it requires chutzpah - a lot of it - to declare with certainty that one of our talents is truly exceptional, that is to say, that we possess skill that is the exception and not the rule.

I have asked this question of people I have coached and organizations with which I have consulted.  I have asked it to candidates for jobs, and have even inserted into interviews where I was the candidate.  And each time I have found that the process of identifying that one item has not only been of value, but has helped my clients be clearer about what makes them special with themselves and those with whom they interact.

Can we say without reservation that the item we pick is truly done better by us than everyone else.  Maybe not.  But the act of saying it is a powerful act in itself.  Do you know your answer?  I know mine.