skills are cheap now. what's your superpower?
a practical guide to finding your edge in an AI-saturated world
[There’s a GPT at the end of this post that I built to help you identify your Superpower. If you want to skip straight to the tool … here you go.]
I remember the first time someone recommended I use an AI copywriter. It was 2021, so pre-Chat GPT. The recommendation made me immediately dislike this person. While I’ve never worked as a full-time copywriter, I like writing copy when I get the chance to. And I think I’m good at it! I had all the typical emotional reactions: some combination of defensiveness, fear, snobbery, uncertainty, certainty, who knows what else, all tangled up in one big, “eww, no thanks.”
Obviously I’ve come a long way. The robots and I are on good terms. I do not see them as a threat to me in the way that I once did. Why? Because my relationship with skills has changed.
I used to think skills were what mattered most. Writing is a skill I care a lot about, and it offended me to think a robot could do it… if not as well as me, then well enough. But AI has radically changed everyone’s access to skills. It can do a decent job of coding, writing, researching, etc., AND it can teach you almost any skill you want to learn. Skills just aren’t the edge they used to be.
But I’m more bullish than ever on superpowers, because if you know what your superpower is and you’re good with AI tools, you can 10x or even 100x that superpower. And that will set you apart.
What’s a Superpower? How is that different than a skill?
I think of skills as specific, learnable capabilities. Writing a press release, coding in Python, running a sales demo, editing video. It can be taught, practiced, and measured fairly objectively.
A superpower, meanwhile, is your native way of engaging with the world to create some change. It’s a pattern of transformation you produce across contexts. Maybe you turn ambiguity into clarity, or stagnation into energy, or conflict into trust, or isolation into connection.
One way to spot it is with an X → Y frame: what’s the “before” state you thrive in, and what’s the “after” state you consistently produce?
Competing opinions → a single clear decision.
Process bottlenecks → a smooth, repeatable system.
A disconnected group of people → an energized, aligned team.
Importantly, superpowers are portable across skills. A person who excels at driving clarity might be well-versed in doing that through writing. But if they learn to design, or to prototype, that opens up new ways of driving clarity through those skills. That increases the effectiveness of their superpower because it means they can apply it in more contexts, for different types of people, and to solve different problems.
It’s important to note that all superpowers have an evil twin, a shadow-side. The strength creates a blindspot that is unique to the superpower. More on that later.
Examples of Superpowers
Here are a few examples to make this concrete:
Clarifier (Ambiguity → Clarity)
Drop them into a foggy situation and they’ll name the thing no one could name, frame it in plain language, and give everyone a way forward.
Example: The meeting has gone in circles for 45 minutes. They jump in, summarize the real question in two sentences, and propose three options. Suddenly, the group is moving again.
Why it’s not just a skill: They might use writing, whiteboarding, or conversation to do it. The through-line is their instinct to make things clear.
Catalyst (Stagnation → Energy)
When a team is dragging, they’re the one who sparks action. They bring urgency, ideas, and a way to break the logjam.
Example: A project has been stuck for months. They host a re-kickoff, reframe the goal, and send people out with momentum and assignments.
Why it’s not just a skill: Public speaking or facilitation might be tools. The superpower is creating movement.
Steward (Risk → Safety/Quality)
They’re wired to protect standards, safety, and integrity. They see the small cracks that could become big problems.
Example: Before launch, they notice a compliance gap no one else caught, fix it, and prevent a costly delay.
Why it’s not just a skill: Legal knowledge is a skill; vigilance and quality-protection are the superpower.
Bridge-Builder (Conflict → Trust)
They can walk into a tense situation, listen deeply to each side, and find common ground that holds.
Example: Two departments are barely speaking. They facilitate a conversation that surfaces the real issues and leaves everyone willing to work together again.
Why it’s not just a skill: Mediation techniques are skills. The superpower is the instinct and ability to restore trust.
Why Superpowers matter more in an AI-saturated world
AI is leveling the playing field on skills. The things that used to make you the “go-to” person aren’t scarce anymore. Colleagues who work near your domain will increasingly be able to pick up your skills if they need to unblock themselves.
People will increasingly be sought out for the unique way they turn problems into results. And when you know that lens and can articulate it, AI stops being just a productivity boost and starts becoming something else entirely:
an amplifier that lets you apply your superpower in more places,
a guardrail that keeps you from overusing it,
a translator that adapts it to different people, and
a collaborator that gets sharper the more you hone it with your judgment.
Let’s unpack:
1. An amplifier: letting you apply your superpower in more places, at higher speed, with less effort.
Your superpower shows up in the high‑leverage moments — the parts of the job where your judgment and instincts change the outcome. Some of that work should stay in your hands. Where AI fits is stripping out the lowest‑leverage steps around those moments (the repetitive, mechanical, formatting stuff), so you can spend more time doing the thing only you can do.
2. A guardrail: keeping your superpower from tipping into its shadow side.
I am always saying that strengths and weaknesses are flip sides of the same coin. The same trait that makes you great in one situation can work against you in another. When you’re moving fast or under pressure, it’s easy to lean on your superpower automatically, even when it’s the wrong move.
AI can act as a check against that autopilot. It can flag when you might be overusing your strength, surface alternative approaches, or show you the risks you might be blind to.
For example, your instinct may be to light a fire under the team, and that usually works. But sometimes a burst of energy can overwhelm people or cause chaos if the foundation isn’t ready. You can ask AI to play the skeptic: “Given this situation, what needs to be in place before we go full-speed? How might my natural tendencies backfire here?”
3. A translator: bending situations toward your strengths.
Not every challenge arrives in a form that plays to your superpower. In the past, that meant forcing yourself into someone else’s way of working. Now, you can use AI to reframe the problem so you can approach it from your strongest angle.
AI can take the constraints, objectives, and context of a task and translate them into a version that’s tailored to how you naturally create value. So if you’re asked to gather market intelligence, but you’re really more of a “connector” than a desk researcher, you could ask the AI for suggestions that leverage your unique genius to achieve the goal and get suggestions like hosting a roundtable, running expert interviews, or starting a customer panel, all of which you can do brilliantly.
4. A collaborator: getting sharper the more you push it with your judgment.
AI is fast and tireless, but it doesn’t know what “good” looks like for you unless you tell it, and keep telling it. The clearer your standards and the more precise your feedback, the better it becomes at supporting your superpower.
When you’re working in your strength zone, you can spot subtle flaws, make specific edits, and set a high bar for quality. AI can iterate instantly on that feedback, letting you push the work further, faster. Outside your zone, you’re more likely to give vague instructions (“make it better”) and settle for less stellar work.
OK…so how do I identify my Superpower?
If you already know your superpower, you’re ahead of the game. If not, here are a few fast ways to start:
1. Ask people who know you well.
Pick 3–5 colleagues, friends, or mentors.
Ask them: “When am I at my best? What do you see me doing in those moments?”
Look for patterns in their answers — especially in the before-and-after transformation you create.
2. Look at your recent wins.
For the last 3–5 times you made a big impact, write down:
What was the “before” state?
What was the “after” state?
What moves did you make to get there?
The through-line is your superpower.
3. Yes…………I made a GPT
I built a GPT that will walk you through a series of either-ors to suss out your superpower(s).
(It was inspired by the SY Partners’ Superpower game, which I love).
So. What’s your superpower?
Thank you for writing this one Hilary!
Your GPT worked really well. Very helpful for figuring out personal positioning