From Superpowers to Great Teams

Activate greatness in yourself and others
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Companies are grappling with increasingly complex challenges that require us to bring our best to the office every day. To do that, we need to tap the diversity of passions and perspectives around us. This begins with bringing your best self to work and building the conditions for those around you to thrive. Work is most joyful—and its outcomes most impactful—when we embrace relationships as opportunities and bring out the best in our collaborators.

Course Outcomes
  • Learn about your unique superpowers in the workplace—and their shadow side.
  • Assess your one-to-one relationships with colleagues and learn strategies to strengthen weak and broken relationships.
  • Explore what triggers you and how your actions might trigger others.
  • Assess your team based on six qualities of great teams and learn how to create the ideal conditions for your team to thrive.
  • Design a ritual to help your team work better together.
Course Themes
Collaboration Teamwork Work Relationships
Format Online Self-Paced Course
Start Date Start Anytime*
Quantity
Time 8-10 Hours
Price
$199
$199
Download Syllabus Download Syllabus
Download Syllabus

*90-day access from date of purchase.

What You'll Learn

Introduction

Why we need diverse perspectives at work today.
Watch a sneak peek
  • From Superpowers to Great Teams—A sneak peek of the course
     
3 Video Lessons
  • Making Work Work—The three key ingredients
  • Doing Great Work—Putting people at the center
  • Doing Great Work—It starts with you
1 Assignment

  • Reflect on your best work. Thriving—as individuals, duos, teams, and as an entire company—starts with you. It starts with identifying and activating the best in yourself.

Lesson 1: Superpowers

Identify your unique strengths and learn to amplify them.
3 Video Lessons
  • Your Superpower—What were you put on Earth to do?
  • What’s Your Superpower?—Stories of how they show up
  • Your Superpower in Action—Using power wisely
1 Article

  • Explore the Superpowers — Click through the gallery to explore all the superpowers.

1 Assignment

  • Identify Your Superpowers—It's time to identify your superpowers. The Superpowers Card Sort is a quick, fun way to put a name to the things you do best—naturally, skillfully, and joyfully.

2 Activities

  • Get to Know Your Superpower—Your superpower is the unique contribution you bring to your work, your team, and your life. This activity will help you zero in on that superpower.

  • Make Your Superpower Plan—Awareness is just the beginning. Take action to amplify your superpower and mitigate its shadow side.

Lesson 2: Dynamic Duos

Learn how strong relationships help us produce brilliant work.
  • Building Strong Bonds
     
3 Video Lessons
  • Dynamic Duos—The power of two
  • Building Strong Bonds—The smallest atomic unit of trust
  • Triggers—Using empathy to strengthen relationships
3 Activities

  • Map Your Duos—Build awareness of your core duos and search for patterns across them.

  • Reflect on Triggers—More deeply understand your broken duos.

  • Build Stronger Duos—Develop a plan to make your relationships more resilient.

Lesson 3: Great Teams

Learn how to create the ideal conditions for your team.
2 Video Lessons
  • Ensembles—Six qualities of great teams
  • Ensembles—Creating conditions for great teams
2 Assignments

  • Assess Your Team—Take a pulse check of where you currently are as a group.

  • Share Your Ritual—By sharing your ritual ideas with other learners, we hope to inspire more people to take agency in strengthening their teams and organizations.

Conclusion

Reflect on your experience and insights, look to the future, and commit to a plan of action.
1 Video Lesson
  • Final Thoughts—Start small, start now
1 Activity

  • Make a Plan of Action—Make a plan incorporating small steps you'll take to show up as your best self, strengthen your relationships, or set up your team to thrive.

1 Assignment

  • What's the one thing you'll take away from this course? Maybe it's a quote or piece of advice or framework. How will you use it to design your business? Or, how have you started to use it already?

Meet Your Instructors

Keith Yamashita

SYPartners Chairman and Founder

Keith works with companies including Apple, IBM, Nike, and Starbucks to bring unique, human-centered approaches to business and social challenges. He is an author, essayist, and lecturer on leadership and design. He holds degrees in organizational behavior and economics from Stanford University.

More About Keith
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Keith Yamashita

SYPartners Chairman and Founder

For the past two decades, Keith has led SYPartners, working with leaders at companies including Apple, eBay, IBM, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Facebook, Nike, OWN, and Starbucks to bring unique, human-centered approaches to business and social challenges. From 2009 to 2011, Keith served as The Charles and Ray Eames Brand Fellow at IBM, working to build a culture of design across the organization. He is also an author and essayist on leadership and design, with articles in the Harvard Business Review and several journals. Keith has lectured at the Yale School of Management, Stanford Business School, and the Jack F. Welch Leadership Center, and was an on-air commentator with Maria Bartiromo on the Business of Innovation. Keith holds an MA in organizational behavior and a BA in quantitative economics from Stanford University.

Sara Kalick

Former Vice President, SYPartners

At SYPartners, Sara worked with clients including American Express, Planned Parenthood, Huawei, and Girl Effect to set bold visions and strategies and achieve their potential. She also helped develop a new SYPartners product, Leadfully, for emerging leaders. Sara holds a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from ESADE Business School.

More About Sara
More From Sara Kalick
IDEO U Blog
Sara on What’s Your Super Power and Its Shadow Side

Sara Kalick

Former Vice President, SYPartners

As a leader in SYPartners' consulting practice, Sara worked with clients to set bold visions and strategies and achieve their potentials. Her clients included Swisscom, American Express, Planned Parenthood, Huawei, Girl Effect, and Kohl's. As Managing Strategy Director in New York, Sara focused her coaching and mentorship skills to deepen SYPartners' bench of strategy leadership. In 2015, Sara began developing a new SYPartners product, Leadfully, which helps emerging leaders everywhere be their best selves. Sara holds a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from ESADE Business School.

Deepen Your Learning

Downloadable Workbook

Receive a guide with activities, reflection questions, and supplemental resources from the course.

Superpowers Cards

Receive a complete set of downloadable superpowers cards with descriptions, tips, and shadow sides.

Ritual Cards

In Lesson 3, you'll design a ritual to help your team adopt new behaviors and mindsets, and receive a downloadable set of ritual cards you can continue to refer back to.

Certificate of Completion

After completing the course, receive a certificate of completion.
Learn more about the IDEO U Learning Experience
Deepen Your Learning

Loved by Learners Across the Globe

Joanne Peddle
Joanne VP of Product SCI MarketView
Katelyn Cronin
Katelyn Director, Workplace Support and Implementation Transamerica
Mette Andersen
Mette Founder & CEO Get Thriving
Ann Low
Ann Director of L&D, Asia Pacific LinkedIn
From Superpowers to Great Teams
Self-Paced Course

“The skills taught in this course need to be taught to everyone. The way we work is changing and those who embrace the change will be the ones with not just great teams but with individuals who aren't just performing at their best but who have superpowers they know how to use.”

Joanne Ontario, Canada
From Superpowers to Great Teams
Self-Paced Course

“It forced me to think of people and my relationships in a way that I wouldn't have otherwise. It wasn't always comfortable but that's why it was meaningful.”

Katelyn Norwood, MA
From Superpowers to Great Teams
Self-Paced Course

“I've enjoyed the self-paced courses and think of them as a way to remember and reinvigorate my skill-set. They're beautifully executed as well.”

Mette London, UK
From Superpowers to Great Teams
Self-Paced Course

“Great experience, lovely learning interfaces for virtual on demand learning, and nicely produced videos.”

Ann Singapore

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Enroll As a Team

The practice and application of design thinking, innovation, and creativity is highly collaborative and team based—which is why we believe that learning is better together. Take a course as a team and develop new skills and mindsets, have deeper discussion during course kickoff and debrief sessions, and build a shared understanding.

How to Enroll as a Team