Last week we talked about Wonder Woman and embracing the different sides of ourselves.  This week we will talk about the X-men and truly embracing the different people on our teams.  When we think about superheroes we often think about individuals and what they can accomplish on their own.  I want us to contrast that with the X-men, a team of super powered individuals.  They work together to defeat the largest threats to the world.

The X-men is a team that was created by Professor Charles Xavier, a telepath, who wanted to bring young mutants together to teach them how to control their powers (a mutant is a person born with special DNA that gives them powers).  From there, Xavier’s students became his X-men, a team that fights supervillains.  Throughout the years the team has had several members with a wide variety of mutant powers including rapid healing and enhanced senses (Wolverine), super strength (Colossus), the ability to control the weather (Storm), the ability to shoot lasers out of their eyes (Cyclops), a person who can run through walls (Kitty Pryde), a guy who can teleport (Nightcrawler), and more. 

What do the X-men have to do with anything?  Any of these individual X-men would be a powerful force on their own, but together they accomplish even more amazing things.  Think about the teams you work on.  These are your fellow X-men.  What powers do they have?  More importantly, are you leveraging those superpowers or are you going at it alone with just your own super skills?

Andrew’s work example.  My mutant abilities include an amazing beard and a knack for seeing the essence in things.  I’m working on a project and those skills help me, but they can’t get me where I need to go on my own.  Instead of trying to go at it alone, I go and talk to T, who has the ability to make numbers talk to him, and I ask him to use his data mind to help me figure out an approach.  I go and talk to B, who has the ability to ask the question that completely shifts your paradigm, and she helps me see that I’m missing a few angles.  I talk to C, who has driver skills and can figure out the next practical step you need to take to move things along.  I combine all of our powers and perspectives together, and it makes me smarter and my project that much stronger.  I couldn’t do it alone, but I could reach out to my fellow X-men to make progress.

Bottom line:  Are you going alone or are you leveraging the mutant abilities of your teammates?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry