Leadership Storytelling
Forbes gives us five ways you as a leader can reclaim your individuality and your personal identity. “In today’s workplace, leaders are a by-product of the company they were raised in.” states Glenn Llopis of Forbes.
The traditional workplace teaches you to be successful for one company and for that one company only. These outdated organizations focus on transactions and control. Effective leadership focuses on developing relationships with inspiration and encouraging individual growth. If you leave the company, which focused on transactions and control, your leadership formula for success will no longer be applicable. A leader cannot produce results when they feel stuck between being who they want to be and what others want them to be. Here are five things Llopis recommends spending more time doing to become a more effective, confident and relevant leader.
- Define your own leadership style
- Learn how to tell your story
- Never stop learning & growing
- Discover your executive presence
- See the bigger picture of your leadership
Today we are focusing on number two,”Learn how to tell your story,” because in the end personal branding is about marketing yourself, building a positive reputation and how others perceive you. Storytelling is an excellent way to convey information naturally. In order to tell a story and have it sound natural, you must know it well and practice telling it until it flows.
When telling stories it’s the authenticity, which engages people and draws them in to listen. Share stories of success, of learning and of challenges worked through. “People forget that being a leader is a very personal thing. In the end, you are accountable to people. This means that you are extremely responsible for your actions and the expectations are high,” says Glenn Llopis.
Callosum offers a service called Brag Bites, which assists you in defining your career’s historical success and failures. Looking at your career, a story share grid is created to highlight your skill sets, noting success and failures within each past role. The end result is a story for each skill personified in a natural conversation. The advantage of creating Brag Bites is that an individual can practice how to share without sounding like a bragger. No one likes a bragger! A Brag Bites session with Callosum teaches you how to “toot your own horn” subtly and prepare in advance for unexpected opportunities.
Read Glenn’s article, 5 Ways Leaders Can Reclaim Their Identity to find out how these areas teach you about yourself, what triggers people to act (or not) and the ultimate purpose for your leadership.
Tell us your story. Pick an instance where you feel you failed or succeeded and share how you turn the experience into a positive story, which positioned you as a leader.
