Easily underestimated, hidden, forgotten or lost in the day-to-day hubbub of ‘doing what you do’  and yet this is exactly where so many of your special secret powers lie! Do you even know about them?

Working with professional women who want to raise their visibility and influence as they work, this is one of the first places I start with them– “what is it about you or what has happened in your life that you’ve struggled with?”  The reason I ask this question is that it’s often exactly these sorts of things that actually make us who we are and – if we recognise them – become an “unfair” advantage to us.

My friend and branding expert Star Ladin (pictured together here) asks this question of her clients and it’s a brilliant, insightful one.

Being 6ft tall since I was 14. Growing up I was often teased and asked “what’s the weather like up there Lurch?” and “is there enough oxygen up there for you?” oh, and one of the best ones can still be “Ooooh, aren’t you tall?” – I’d often (and still do) say “oh, thank you for telling me, I hadn’t noticed!”  In my teens, I used to get to parties and immediately take my shoes off saying my feet hurt.  In reality, I wanted to be smaller, to blend in more.

Now I recognise being tall means I’m noticed, I’m remembered and often when growing up, was assumed to be either older or wiser (or both!) than I was.   My height gives me a natural presence, which, in business just as in life, helps.  I had no choice; I was – and still am – 6ft and the choice was always how I deal with it – what I make it mean to me.

It could have been easy to have slouched, to have tried to hide it by wearing flat shoes all the time but actually, I really like being tall and wear high heels as and when I want to – oh, and I’m married to someone a fair bit shorter than me.  So what?  It’s all about your perception and how you perceive your “unfair” advantage.

I’ve asked a few other people recently, just off the cuff, what they’ve struggled with and now could be their “unfair” advantage.  They’ve all been able to tell me what theirs is.

• One friend – “Being Scottish – I’m remembered, I’m different and people like my accent”.
• Another – “My dyslexia’s made me be so much more creative”.
• My husband, Snowy – “My dad dying when I was so young helped me know how to look after myself and appreciate how hard my Mum worked”.

Think about your “unfair” advantage.  What is it that’s shaped you and how do you allow it to positively influence your life?  If it doesn’t, how could it?  What could you make it mean?

A great way to find out if you don’t instinctively know is to ask 3 different people who know you well.  Literally ask them “what do you think is my unfair advantage” and just stop and listen to what they say. Often they’ll all come up with the same thing, my friends all did.  Others often see – and appreciate – things in us, or about us, that we don’t.

When you become clearer about this, recognising if and how you allow it to be your “secret sauce” is a BIG part of communicating who – and how – you are, everywhere, you are.

As we all know, how you put yourself across is a key part in how others respond to you and what you’re noticed/known and remembered for.