|
|
|||||
|
|||||
| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Research Articles : Feature Article |
The story of your leadership
By Pattie LaCroix
February 18, 2010
I was recently invited to join 130 volunteers at their national conference to build their capacity to engage Canadians in the World Partnership Walk in nine cities across the country. I was asked to deliver my "Why Stories Matter" workshop to strengthen their capacity to tell their stories of how the World Partnership Walk brings to life the Canadian value of compassion and action anchored in a determined hope for a better world.
Author Robert Dickman describes stories as "a fact, wrapped in an emotion that compels us to take an action that transforms our world."
In preparing them to tell their stories I invited them to let go of the idea of being a perfect leader. "Don’t worry about getting your story perfect...just start, start to tell your story to others and see what happens." I asked them to combine their evidence-based impact of international development projects (supported by proceeds of the walk) with their values and personal experience in building a better world. In short I asked them to "show up" in their stories.
What unfolded, I think, was best described by Carl Jung when he observes, “Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside awakens.” In crafting stories, our individual leadership is activated and we look within ourselves to find our authentic voice, to shed light on our values, and to present data, research, or a perspective in a meaningful context to engage others. We look outside where we wish our dreams to take hold and we look inside where hope takes root. It is important to give voice to both the "outside" and "inside" view of your leadership in the stories that you tell.
Back at the national conference these 130 volunteer leaders were nervous to share their story but gradually I could feel their confidence building and their clarity of purpose growing.
As the day went on, more and more were on their feet wanting to flex their storytelling muscles and share their story of hope. Some stories resulted in applause, cheers, and laughter while others ended in tears and powerful silence.
What values do you wish to convey in the story of your leadership? Who are you trying to connect to through your leadership, and why? What dreams do you see when you look outside, and what awakens when you look inside? Stories provide us with a springboard to ignite others when we have the courage and clarity to show up in the narrative of our own leadership.
But remember, as the authors of Getting to Maybe observe, "there is no correlation between the 'perfection' of the individual and the social innovation that results. Indeed, expecting social innovators to be perfect is another way of reinforcing the status quo."
I invite you to start working on the story of your leadership.
Pattie LaCroix has provided strategic engagement services to support leadership that ignites innovation in the social sector. As CEO of Catapult Media she provides strategic planning and professional coaching services to a wide range of organizations. You can reach Pattie at www.catapultmedia.ca.
|
|||
