You look around and find yourself in a sea of professionals. Hundreds of people hold the same role you do. Not all in your industry or at your company. So how do you move from being a commodity to being known for your brilliance?
Here’s what can move the needle now: uncovering the key strength that differentiates you. In a crowded field of professionals occupying similar roles, this is what separates leaders who stand out from leaders who blend in. The steps ahead will help you identify that strength by paying closer attention to what is already there.
This key strength is a skill that comes naturally to you. When you use it, you feel energized rather than depleted.
Word of Caution: You may take this skill for granted because it comes so easily. You might even catch yourself saying, “Oh, anybody can do that.” That’s simply not true. No one can do it like you.
Embrace and celebrate your brilliance. If not you, then who?
Know the Difference
Before we go further, let’s define the meaning of three words used throughout this blog:
- Your key strength is what comes naturally and energizes you. What you do effortlessly and doesn’t drain you.
- Your differentiator is how you do it. The specific, personal way you deliver that strength that no one else can replicate.
- Your brilliance is what becomes visible to others when you consistently use your differentiator. The combination of your key strength and differentiator is what makes you unique.
Most leaders can name a strength. Far fewer can name their differentiator. Closing that gap is where you move from generic to memorable; where brilliance stops being a compliment and starts becoming your reputation.
The Issue Isn’t That You Don’t Know
Here’s what I see most often: leaders usually know what they are good at, but they are not always paying active attention to it. They are not collecting data on themselves, so when asked, they default to a generic label, “I’m good with people,” “I’m a strong communicator,” “I’m strategic.” That’s the surface answer, not the one that will set you apart of others.
Your difference isn’t just what you do; it’s how you do it that sets you apart.
For Instance…
You know people who are “good at working with people.” That statement is generic. It doesn’t position a difference. To see how to move past it, let’s look at two leaders.
Raymond and Kate are both Directors at the same company in different departments. Both are praised for how well they work with people, and both want to be known for this strength. The question is how they translate “I’m good with people” into the specific value that positions their expertise.
They each need to identify what they’re specifically doing when working with people that makes them different.
Listen to Feedback
Raymond was recently told how grateful the sales team was to have met face-to-face with the leader of marketing. That meeting was Raymond’s idea, and it resolved the main issue: trust.
Meeting in person gave the sales team a chance to voice their concerns and feel heard. The marketing lead travelled to discuss their challenges and clarify solutions, creating a win for both teams.
The Sales Director appreciated that Raymond had orchestrated it. That one meeting opened communication, created cross-functional opportunities, and made both teams more effective.
Raymond found his differentiator: building trust through human connection to establish solid relationships. He’s exceptional at bringing a human connection to everything he does. He intuitively knows when an in-person conversation will accomplish more than a call or an email ever will.
Kate regularly hears how good she is at working with people. One of her team leads recently shared that the team stays engaged and productive whenever Kate is in the room. She has a way of getting everyone to open up and share ideas.
Most of the time, when a senior leader sits in on a meeting, discussion dries up. When Kate is present, the opposite happens – people are comfortable, and they share freely. She asks great questions and gives praise when people speak up.
Kate found her differentiator: bringing out the best in people through genuine interest and appreciation.
Both leaders are “good at working with people.” Once they defined their differentiators, they had something specific to position and promote – the specific value that sets them apart and helps others see their brilliance.
What If No One’s Handed You the Feedback?
Raymond and Kate got their clarity from someone else naming it for them. If no one’s handed you the language yet, you can find it yourself. Start actively paying attention to:
- When do you lose track of time at work? What were you doing?
- What do people come to you for, over and over, that you’ve almost stopped noticing because it feels so ordinary to you?
- What’s a compliment you brushed off in the last month? Go back to it. Ask yourself why they said it. What specifically were you doing?
- Across different roles, teams, or companies, what’s been true every time? That consistency is a signal, not a coincidence.
This is the practice of collecting evidence about yourself to better position your value and showcase your brilliance.
How Can You Stand Out for Your Difference?
- Identify the key strength you want to be known for.
- Listen to feedback from others on what you do well and where you haven’t received it; start actively collecting your own.
- Get clear on the “how” behind your results – the specific behaviour, instinct, or approach that produces them.
- Define that “how” to effectively position your differentiator.
Use these steps as a simple progression: name the strength, define the specific way you deliver it, then choose where to practice it so others witness it consistently.
Find What Feels Like Play, Then Raise Your Hand
Naming your differentiator is only half the equation. The other half is knowing where to use it, deliberately and often, in the places where it doesn’t feel like work at all. Standing out means raising your hand for the right opportunities.
Ask yourself:
- Where do you already apply your differentiator without noticing the effort?
- What would it look like to actively seek the opportunities to spend more time there, on purpose?
- Where outside of your work environment could you find opportunities to engage more often doing what you love?
Once you know where it lives, look for the moments to claim it, not just wait for it:
- Volunteer for what nobody’s claimed yet. The cross-functional project, the messy problem, the meeting no one wants to run.
- Speak up where your differentiator isn’t expected. If trust-building is your strength, it matters as much in the budget meeting as it does in a one-on-one.
- Ask to be looped in. Request visibility into opportunities adjacent to your strength, even outside your current scope.
- Teach or mentor it. Showing someone else how to align with their key strength and share yours is a way to be recognized for it.
When you are operating from what comes naturally, work stops feeling like effort and starts feeling like play. That is also where your leadership contribution is strongest, not because you are competent there, but because you are brilliant.
Your Move This Week
There is no value in keeping your differentiator a secret. It becomes your reputation only when others see it consistently demonstrated.
Here is the one step to take: pick one meeting, conversation, or moment this week where you will name and share your differentiator on purpose.
Not simply “I’m good with people,” but the specific how:
“I get in a room with people when it matters, because that is what rebuilds trust.”
“I ask questions that help people open up, because that is when the real ideas surface.”
Say it once. Notice what happens. That is the beginning of becoming known for it, instead of simply being good at it.
Ready to Elevate Your Leadership Style?
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Book a complimentary 30-minute consultation to explore how coaching can help you step into your full potential. Email today to get started!
