Magic in the Room #13: Strength Based Leadership

June 2, 2020

What do you consider to be your leadership superpower? When you get out of bed every morning, what do you try to leverage to help you accomplish something good? These are the opening questions that Chris Province asks his fellow hosts and listeners of this episode of the Magic In The Room podcast.

 

For Luke, it’s strategy. Being strategic helps him see the intersectionality between strengths and capabilities. If it’s a product or a service they want to provide, he explains how it then becomes more about aligning the team and helping them be as effective as possible. A strategic mindset also helps Luke see where there could be different role definition or where there is something missing from the team.

 

From an early age, Hannah has shown incredible adaptability. In her early twenties, she found herself living in different countries and adapting to new life situations. The ability to observe and learn while adjusting to her new surroundings quickly became a strength that she has used naturally throughout her life. The superpower enables her to maximize every job role, team, project, or phase in her life to be the best it can be.

 

When Chris is asked the same question, he advised that it’s his ability to focus on the heart in things. He hopes that his willingness to fight for what is right, combined with his generosity, makes people want him on their side when they go into battle. By leading with heart, grit, and courage, Chris enjoys making things possible that maybe don’t look possible at the time.

 

The hosts then take the opportunity to zoom out and understand that together, their superpowers of being highly strategic and adaptable with a big heart are responsible for them having an incredibly balanced team. It also enables them to understand what they can accomplish by leveraging their collective strengths and appreciate the value of knowing each other’s superpowers. But, how can you and your team identify your superpowers?

 

Hannah recommends the Strengthsfinder 2.0 assessment by Gallup to help listeners identify their top five themes which can become strengths when you leverage them intentionally. But Luke enjoys taking things beyond the Strengthsfinder results. He is motivated by reminders and weekly coaching tips that generate an ongoing conversation about your strengths to keep it top of mind.

 

However, one of the most important things to remember is that we are all unique when it comes to understanding our strengths. Some will have realizations through journaling or mental modelling such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or Strengthsfinder. For others, it will be an aggregation. Ultimately, we need to keep an open mind to what those sources might be when attempting to understand how we are showing up and the strengths that allow us to be effective.

 

If effectively leveraging your strengths is something that you would like to explore individually or for your team, the hosts of the Magic in The Room podcast would like to invite you to join their new beta platform. So, reach out to Hannah, Luke, and Chris by emailing info@purposeandperformancegroup.com and ask to join their beta group.

 

Magic in the Room #201: Leading from Within

By Emma Holland • June 9, 2026
In this episode of Magic in the Room, Chris Province, Hannah Bratterud, and Luke Freeman reflect on six years of conversations and explore a foundational leadership question: why leadership is ultimately an inside game. Drawing on personal growth, facilitation experiences, and organizational leadership lessons, they argue that effective leadership cannot be reduced to frameworks, checklists, or techniques alone, but instead depends on the ongoing work of self-awareness, discernment, courage, and wisdom. They explore the relationship between courage and conviction, the importance of responding rather than reacting, and the role of personal development in creating positive impact for teams, organizations, and communities. The episode presents leadership as a lifelong practice of leading oneself first, emphasizing that meaningful change begins not with external systems, but with the internal work of becoming more intentional, hopeful, and aligned with one’s values.

Magic in the Room #200: How to Lead through Polarities

By Sarah Whitfield • May 5, 2026
In this episode of Magic in the Room, Luke and Hannah explore the concept of polarities. Tensions like purpose and performance, stability and change, or accountability and grace that are often mistaken for problems to solve rather than dynamics to manage. Drawing on insights from Barry Johnson’s work, they explain how these opposing forces are interdependent and must be balanced over time to achieve sustained success. Through practical examples and personal reflections, they show how over-relying on one side of a polarity leads to predictable “shadow sides” such as stagnation, chaos, inefficiency, or burnout, while effective leadership requires recognizing where you are on the cycle and intentionally recalibrating. The episode emphasizes that many recurring organizational frustrations are not failures, but signals of imbalance, and offers a more nuanced approach to leadership. One that replaces rigid either/or thinking with flexible both/and awareness to improve decision-making, team dynamics, and long-term performance.
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