Do You Know the Value of a Good Story?
❓Do you know the value of a good story?
✅Most of us first learned through stories at an early age (rhyming seems to help)
✅Anthropologists study the power of shared narratives across cultures and human history (how the universe works, the hero’s journey)
✅Stories get attention as a frame for a memorable speech or social media post (or Taylor Swift lyric)
✅Our personal stories shape our identity, how we see ourselves and how others see us (my Italian American immigrant roots)
Given all these examples of the power and appeal of stories and storytelling, how can we use stories as part of our impactful leadership? How can we examine and recreate our own personal identities through stories?
The recent HBR article Storytelling That Drives Bold Change: How to Craft a Narrative that Matters” explicitly addresses the value of storytelling in leadership.
The authors outline and elaborate upon the following steps:
▪️Honor your past
▪️Provide a clear and compelling mandate for change
▪️Describe a rigorous and optimistic way forward
▪️Put the pieces of your story together
▪️Repeat yourself
▪️Identify and use your emotions
As I nodded along to the explanations it struck me how this same set of instructions for leaders can serve as a manual for our own life and career transitions, too. As an executive leadership and career transition coach, I work with leaders who are challenged to define and implement transformational changes in their business organizations or are considering their personal transitions. Much of the early work in these engagements involves stories: crafting the story of how we got here; communicating a compelling need and method for change; and being brave enough to tell the story to ourselves and others at every opportunity.
So often when confronted with a big transformation, we jump right to “execution.” This approach, usually in nominal service to “efficiency” or “getting started” can lead to confusion, false starts, lack of cohesion and failure to launch.
How much better would it be if we took the time to craft the story, tell it to all who will listen, and use the story as a roadmap for the transformation?
To talk more about executive leadership and career transition transformational opportunities that are important to you, connect with me here or at john@aconnectedcoach.com