Crafting Your Leadership Story: A How-to Guide. An exercise to help you lead with greater clarity

Transcription

1 Crafting Your Leadership Story: A How-to Guide An exercise to help you lead with greater clarity

2 Most people don t think of themselves as storytellers. Yet we tell stories every day about all sorts of things the TV show we watched, what we did on vacation, waiting in line at the grocery store, etc. In fact, it s been said that we master the ability to tell stories by age three. Our stories and life experiences make us who we are. They inform our values, principles, and approaches. Our experiences teach us things, inform our conclusions about life, and ultimately crystallize our points of view. Everyday life experiences present us with defining moments that shape us as leaders. These defining moments also become the grist of the stories we tell. Using meaningful and impactful life experience stories to illustrate a point is the way to connect with others in an authentic meaningful way and make what we re saying real for others. When you can illustrate the way, people are more likely to be inspired and engage. About Linkage For more than 25 years, Linkage has provided leadership development insights, learning and strategy to organizations looking to strengthen their leaders, more effectively engage their teams, and build cultures of employee engagement that achieve and exceed organizational objectives. By understanding your organization s needs for leadership development, talent management, employee engagement, executive coaching, advancing women leaders and building inclusive cultures, we can align Linkage s expertise in consulting and executive coaching services, our work in human capital and talent management, leadership assessment services, onsite or offsite training and development programs, and action learning institutes to help your organization plan, act and transform your organization to create real results and lasting impact. Linkage Crafting Your Leadership Story: A How-to Guide 2

3 Purpose and Clarity... Start with you This reflective exercise provides a simple framework you can use to bring your leadership vision to life through story. First, you ll reflect on your own experiences and how they ve helped define who you are. Next, you ll use this information to map out a visual timeline of your life, starting with when you were born up through the current day. Then, based on your answers to several questions, you ll determine how you will use this information to lead with greater clarity and purpose. Part 1 Personal highlights 1. What were the milestones in your life? What successes have you had? Watershed moments? What positive experiences have helped define who you are? 2. How did these milestones shape you as a leader? (Principles, values, commitments, convictions, preferences, etc.) Times of struggle 3. What significant events or periods of your life were challenging? What crises have you encountered? 4. What did you learn from those periods of your life? How did some of the challenges help define who you are? Linkage Crafting Your Leadership Story: A How-to Guide 3

4 Mentors or role models 5. Who were key players in your life? Who was influential in your development? Who were your mentors? 6. What lessons did you learn from your heroes? How have they impacted you? Watershed moments 7. What transitions have you made in your journey? What decisions had the greatest impact on the path you took in your career or life? 8. How did these decisions and transitions impact you? What did you learn in the process? Linkage Crafting Your Leadership Story: A How-to Guide 4

5 Part 2 Your Story in Real Life Take a look at the sample leadership timeline below, print this page, and then take a few minutes to map out your own experiences. Think of this as your opportunity to tell your own personal story of how you got to where you are today. Starting from your childhood, add major events, decisions, monumental occasions, life changes, and relationships to your timeline. Sample Leadership Timeline HIGHS President of Senior Class US Naval Academy McGill Univ. Started Business Married Remarried Children 10 Years Series of Jobs Big Promotion Found My Real Self Lost Some Hope First Big Job afraid to leave Failed One More Time LOWS Father Died Dropped Out Started Drinking Bad Job Not for Me Failed Didn t Want to Play Not A Team Player Quit Birth Your Leadership Timeline LOWS HIGHS Birth Today Linkage Crafting Your Leadership Story: A How-to Guide 5

6 Part 3 Bringing Your Vision to Life Using your answers from Part 1 and the leadership timeline visual for reference, think about crafting a story that personifies your vision. Start with identifying one or two life experiences that have caused you to reflect and have helped define what you stand for as a leader. Start with a high-level vision statement about what you want to be as a leader, and then a story to support your point. Here are two examples to get you started Example 1: VISION: I will always get to know the people I lead: I will get to know what they care about, what they love to do, their concerns, their dreams. STORY: The reason this is so important to me is that, early in my career, I had a number of supervisors who only cared about me showing up and completing the tasks they had assigned. Then I changed jobs and had a supervisor who talked to me, shared with me, taught me and I came alive. I could not wait to get to work; I felt appreciated, I felt safe, and I gave 100%. I made a decision based on my experience that if I was ever a leader, I would be a leader that knew really knew my team, and I would take the time to bring out the best in them. Example 2: VISION: I will make sure that those I supervise are 100% aware of all of their positive attributes and where they excel, and that they are aware of areas that need improvement. STORY: My friend was in a senior position for years and assumed she was a shoe-in for the C-suite. When the time came, she wasn t promoted. Someone else was brought in, which came as a huge shock to her. At no time had her supervisor indicated she was no longer being considered or that she had weak areas that would jeopardize her chances. In hearing this story, I decided that if a leader is not keeping direct reports fully apprised of their performance or is withholding information, then they can actually damage someone s growth potential. Now it s your turn: MY VISION: MY STORY: Time to Go Practice Use a story whenever you can. People remember stories they don t remember PowerPoint slides and excel spreadsheets. They remember authenticity and connection. Don t be afraid to stitch together a narrative that provides a glimpse into what makes you tick as a leader and how you approach your position, and how this, in turn, affects those who work for you. 200 Wheeler Road Burlington, MA info@linkageinc.com