Intellection & Iron Man

What’s your origin story?

In the comic book world it often refers to how a particular superhero came to be. Created in a lab? Bitten by a radioactive spider? Born on a faraway planet? No matter how they came to be, the protagonist usually has some supernatural ability that they were born with — or developed at an early age.

I like to think of our CliftonStrengths talents as our natural superpowers. You were born with it. But you had to find the right suit, the right mentor, and the right team in order to become the hero and save the world from the bad guys.

Now whether you’re a member of the Avengers or the Justice League, or you have a more non-superhero job like most of us, it’s fun to think about what powers we bring to the table and how can work together to make an impact. Batman and Robin were a dynamic duo because they were individually good at different things, but even better together. Please don’t ask me what Robin was good at… I just know he made Batman even better.

Strengthening your Team

If I’m a manager and I’m assembling a project team, I don’t need four people who can leap tall buildings. Maybe I need someone with a lasso that makes people tell the truth. Actually, I definitely need that. Wonder Woman… you’re in!

That brings me to the CliftonStrengths Talent Theme of Intellection. The person with Intellection is energized by introspection and loves to exercise their mind.

They need time to be deep in thought for clarity purposes and to be challenged with intellectual problems and discussions. The superhero that comes to mind for this strength is Iron Man.

Iron Man is Tony Stark. And according to the Google search I just did, apparently Tony Stark doesn’t actually have superpowers.

I think Google is wrong.

Tony Stark, like all of us, has innate talents that would show up in his Top 5 if he (hypothetically) took the CliftonStrengths assessment. My suspicion from the one or two Iron Man movies I’ve seen is that Tony Stark would have high Intellection.

Tony Stark is a genius. He’s an inventor and strategist. He constantly analyzes situations, innovates new technologies, and makes plans to save the world.

On his own, he built the Iron Man suit and its underlying technologies and used it to outsmart his opponents over and over again.

Using our Superpowers for good

I believe it was Spider-Man’s uncle who famously told shared this important quote with him:

With great power, comes great responsibility

Whatever your talent superpower, using it with positive intent for our teams and organizations is key. If you have high Intellection, be curious. I’d suggest setting deadlines and giving yourself tangible timelines for your idea curation so you don’t get lost in your thoughts.

Make sure to let others know that you need to process things deeply. You might need other deep thinkers to work things out with. Use others as a sounding board to make sure the thoughts you’re exploring are relatable to others before bringing them to a larger audience.

Embrace your Intellection talent and who knows, you might just unlock the next big invention that saves the planet from an evil villain!