🎃 Don’t Ghost Your Strengths: How to Lead Bravely This Halloween

Halloween is here, and while the costumes, candy, and cobwebs are fun, sometimes the real scares come from our workplaces. 👻

We’ve all had a “Scary Boss” or two—those ghosts of managers past who haunt our memories with micromanagement, fear-based feedback, or leadership gone wrong. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to let those ghosts shape how you lead today.

In fact, Halloween is the perfect reminder to bring your CliftonStrengths to life to replace fear with awareness and turn the things that once scared you into lessons that help you lead with courage and heart.

So before you put on your costume or pour your next pumpkin spice latte, here are 3 ways to use your strengths this Halloween season:

🧙‍♀️ 1. Take Off the Mask — Lead Authentically
Some leaders wear masks year-round. They hide behind titles, perfection, or people-pleasing. Your strengths are your real superpowers, so don’t be afraid to show them.

🪞 Try This:
•    Identify one way you’ve been “masking” your natural strengths at work. (Maybe your Empathy feels too soft, or your Activator too bold.)
•    This week, lead from that strength instead of hiding it.
•    Ask yourself, “What would it look like if I led as the real me?”

🧛‍♂️ 2. Face the Ghosts of Managers Past
🕯️We’ve all been led by someone who made us question our sanity—and maybe even our career choices. But those experiences can be powerful teachers if we let them be.

Here are two spooky favorites that might sound familiar:

💀 Count Micromanula — The Time-Sucking Supervisor
He lurks over your shoulder, drains the joy out of your creativity, and insists on approving every last detail. You can feel your energy vanish the moment he walks in.

👉 Lesson: Micromanagement comes from fear. Great leaders use their strengths—like Empathy or Command—to empower, not control. Trust is your daylight; it keeps micromanagement’s fangs away.

🧟 The Ghost of Credit Past — The Disappearing Recognition Phantom
She’s always there when praise is given, but vanishes when accountability comes calling. She floats in for the credit and fades when things go wrong.

👉 Lesson: Recognition matters. Use Developer, Connectedness, or Responsibility to shine the light on your team and own your part. Great leaders lift others up instead of haunting the spotlight.

👻 Try This:
•    Reflect on one “scary boss” moment from your past. What lesson did it teach you?
•    Write down how you lead differently today because of it.
(Bonus: You can bring this story to our Halloween Coffee with Kelly this Friday, where we’ll vote on the scariest boss story and give a spooky prize to the winner!)

🦸 3. Turn Fear into Fuel
Every leader faces fear: fear of rejection, failure, or not being “ready.” The trick? Don’t fight it, focus it. Your strengths can help transform fear into forward momentum.

🔥 Try This:
•    When fear shows up, ask, “Which of my strengths can help me through this?”
o    Use Strategic to see options.
o    Use Positivity to shift the energy.
o    Use Relator to lean on trusted connections.
•    Fear loses its power when you shine a light on it through self-awareness.

☕ Join Us This Friday for Coffee with Kelly: “Scariest Boss Stories & Ghosts of Managers Past”
We’ll share laughs, lessons, and maybe a few chills as we tell the tales of leadership gone wrong—and how we can become better leaders because of it. 🎃
Click here to join us! 👈

Come ready to share your story (and maybe win a prize for the best one!). Because leadership doesn’t have to be scary—especially when you know your strengths.

✨ Final Thought
This Halloween, don’t ghost your strengths.
Unmask your potential.
And remember—leadership gets a lot less scary when you know who you are.

Happy Halloween!

Kelly