Choosing your Leadership Story
In my conversations with people around sharing personal narratives at the work place, a question that often comes up is – “Of the many experiences I have had, how do I make sure that I share just the right thing?”
In a recent workshop that we co-hosted with Sue Hollingsworth, one of the exercises seem to present a clear answer to this. And answer is in the form of questions! So, in crafting your leadership story for the moment, here are two questions that might lead you to “sharing just the right thing”: 1. Who do I need to tell the story to? 2. What outcome or change would I like to see because of my sharing? The answers that emerge from these questions would help craft the story in:
choosing an experience that would be relevant to the listeners,
presenting the core of what you wish to communicate in an authentic, non-prescriptive manner, and
triggering thought and / or action in the direction that matters to your organization and to you.
Sharing personal stories often means to risk your own significance and step into the zone of vulnerability. Choosing ‘just the right story’ to tell, that facilitates authentic sharing and connection, makes it worth the risk!
