The Superhero in Me
The Superhero in Me is a drawing-based self-awareness exercise in which each participant turns their strengths, weaknesses and challenges into three characters: a superhero, a sidekick and a nemesis. It was written up by Roos de Jonge for the Transition Makers Toolbox at the University of Amsterdam. Participants work out the raw material in small groups, draw and name the characters on a canvas, present them to a peer and revise them after feedback, and can keep the trio as a reflection frame for the rest of a course or project.
Facilitation script
- 1
Introduce the three characters and what each stands for, then form groups of three or four. Group members question each other on strengths, weaknesses and challenges using the guiding questions while each person notes their own answers.
20 min - 2
Run the optional drawing warm-up, then have everyone draw and name their superhero, sidekick and nemesis on the canvas. Circulate and remind people that the sidekick answers a weakness and the nemesis represents a challenge.
30 min - 3
Show the feedback guidelines. Each person presents their characters in three minutes and then receives feedback from their peers; keep time so that every person gets roughly the same share.
50 min - 4
Give quiet time to revise the characters and write down what changed after the feedback.
10 min - 5
Set up the follow-on use: agree when and how participants will revisit the characters, and hand out or collect the reflection questions per character.
10 min
Tips
Say early and plainly that stick figures are fine; the value is in the choices people make about powers, helpers and opponents, not in the drawing.
The sidekick is the character people find hardest, so give an example of what compensating for a weakness can look like: a habit, a tool or a colleague.
Keep feedback about the fit between person and character, and let each participant decide how much of their weaknesses they share.
Common pitfalls
Skipping the small-group conversation and going straight to drawing: people then draw a generic hero, and the characters carry nothing personal to reflect on
Letting the drawing become the point: confident drawers produce elaborate figures while others freeze, and the time for feedback shrinks
Treating the nemesis as a real person, such as a difficult colleague or teacher: the exercise turns into complaint and the participant loses sight of their own part in the challenge
Feedback that judges the person instead of the character's fit: participants become defensive and tone down the weaknesses in the revision step
Never returning to the characters: without the follow-on reflection the exercise stays a pleasant one-off and the frame is forgotten within days
Variations
For a shorter session, cut the feedback round to pairs with five minutes each and drop the warm-up, which brings the exercise to about 60 minutes. Remotely, participants draw on paper and hold the sheet up to the camera or upload a photo to a shared board, with the first step and the feedback round in breakout rooms. In an intact team, a closing gallery of all superheroes makes the spread of strengths visible; keep the sidekicks and nemeses voluntary in that round.
Where it fits
When to use it
At the start of a course, programme or project, when people need a personal baseline they can come back to later
A group finds a plain strengths-and-weaknesses list dry or threatening and talks more freely through a character
You want participants to think about what compensates for their weaknesses, not only to list them
You plan regular reflection moments over several weeks and need a frame that stays memorable
A new team would benefit from hearing how each member sees their own contribution and limits
When not to use it
You have less than an hour: the feedback round is what sharpens the characters, so use a Personal SWOT in pairs instead
The group needs a shared picture of team strengths for planning work; a Personal Strengths Matrix or Strengths Game gives a more comparable result
Trust is low or there are reporting lines in the small groups, because people will draw a safe, flattering hero and skip the weaknesses; start with lighter check-in formats first
The audience strongly resists drawing or playful metaphor, for example in a formal assessment setting; a structured interview or Johari Window fits better
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is The Superhero in Me?▾
The Superhero in Me is a self-awareness exercise from the Transition Makers Toolbox in which participants translate their strengths, weaknesses and challenges into three drawn characters: a superhero, a sidekick and a nemesis. They prepare in small groups, draw the characters on a canvas, present them to peers and refine them after feedback. The characters can then serve as a lens for recurring reflection.
What do the superhero, sidekick and nemesis stand for?▾
The superhero represents the participant's strengths. The sidekick is whoever or whatever makes up for their weaknesses, and the nemesis stands for the challenges they face. Naming all three gives a more balanced picture than a list of strengths alone.
How long does The Superhero in Me take?▾
The full version takes about two hours: 20 minutes of small-group preparation, 30 minutes of drawing, around 50 minutes of presenting and peer feedback, and 20 minutes for revising and setting up later reflection. With feedback in pairs and no warm-up it can be run in about an hour, at the cost of thinner feedback.
Do participants need to be able to draw?▾
No. Simple figures with a name and a few labelled powers or traits are enough, and the facilitator should say so before anyone picks up a pen. A short playful drawing warm-up helps people stop judging their sketches.
How many people can take part?▾
The source describes the exercise for a class of up to about 24 people working in groups of three or four. The minimum is one small group of three. Larger groups are possible if the room allows many parallel conversations, since the plenary parts are short.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Roos de Jonge, Transition Makers Toolbox (University of Amsterdam).