Discover our best selves

Introduction Here’s what nobody tells you about: your biggest blind spot isn’t your technical weaknesses—it’s your strengths. That sounds weird doesn’t it. Most of us can recite our shortcomings on command, yet we struggle to articulate what we’re genuinely good at. This isn’t just modesty. It’s a fundamental quirk of human psychology that keeps us from reaching our full potential. The Reflected Best Self Portrait exercise, developed by researchers at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, flips this script entirely. Instead of the usual deficit-focused approach (“here’s what you need to fix”), it asks a radical question: what if we built our careers around who we are when we’re at our absolute best? For data professionals navigating an industry that’s constantly evolving—where yesterday’s cutting-edge tool becomes today’s legacy system—this approach isn’t just refreshing. It’s essential.