Who is in charge of telling your story?

You've committed 3-5 years, maybe more, to leading your business, your school, or your organization -- to turn the curve, to increase sales, improve graduation rate, reduce waste, whatever measuring stick you use to indicate success or growth. At the end of your term, there's going to be a story to tell. Who’s going to tell that story, and what will it say about your leadership?

Leaders, I want to call your attention to something; you aren't only a leader, you're an author. Are you going to take the "pen" and write the narrative of that story?

In literature, there are characters that play roles and give a story life; they take a story down this path or that path, around twists and turns, and the story eventually leads up to a crescendo…or sometimes to tragedy. The author controls that and narrates the details that give the characters and the story meaning.

About 4 years ago, I was driving to work thinking about my task list for the day. I got to work, began on my list and when the day was done I got in my car to drive home and I thought to myself, "Where is all this going? What is it leading to? And who is making it happen?" I felt like I was doing good work; I was inspired and others had told me I, too, was inspiring. But, it felt like things were just happening; my story was sort of writing itself. In fact, there was more to the story than met the eye; and I wasn't exactly playing the role I was intended to play.

I realized that we all have the opportunity to write the narrative of the story we want to tell and the story to be told after we're done writing it. I realized that every few days was a new page, every few weeks a new chapter, every couple years a new book in the series. I realized that I was surrounded by the characters in my story; that I was an architect with influence to shape the characters’ role and whether or not new characters were to make their way into the story.

I put this thinking to the test when I launched THEZONE Project, a community-wide collective impact initiative that harnessed the collective prowess of neighbors and other community leaders across all sectors to accomplish one shared vision: Improve the environment where our children and families live as a means of increasing the graduation rate. Seizing the moment(s) of authoring this story required me to do a few things that each of us, as leaders and authors, must do:

Have a vision. Nothing is more important as an author than being able to "write" with the end in mind. Having a vision will anchor every leadership decision you make;
Share the vision. A story with one character is a boring story. Even the Old Man in the Sea had a fish in his story! Colleagues, employees, stakeholders, family, friends are all part of the story. Help them to see and commit to the end you have in mind;
Make the vision mutually beneficial. We are all part of a number of different stories. Help others see the reciprocal benefit of playing a role in your story. Better yet, let them feel like the story is one of their own;
Cultivate the vision. Have you ever noticed how characters develop over the course of a story? Has it ever dawned on you the author makes that happen? Leaders, we play a significant role in "character development." Clarify your characters’ purpose, provide autonomy to self-develop, and allow for mastery of that development.

With the changing tides of the latest and greatest takes on leadership fundamentals, we need some fundamentals that are enduring. Tides come in, and tides go out. Morning, midday, evening; one thing is irrefutable. It's water. Now, there are endless books, videos, articles - and blogs - with tips, tricks, and suggestions for becoming and staying a great leader. Those are important, but there has to be a foundation from which you operate. For me it's this:

Your staff, your employees, any stakeholders, and even you are characters in the story you are crafting as a leader and author. Give them life, give them meaning. Don't fall victim to allowing a story to just write itself and letting it just end any which way. Decide right now how you want the story to end and begin "writing" the narrative, chapter by chapter of the paths, twists, and turns that lead to your vision of an amazing crescendo!

Andre Wicks insists on writing his own narrative. You can write back to him via email at Andre@StriveSS.com.

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