Leadership stories we tell ourselves and teach others

Often we’ve written a script in our heads that may or may not be true. But this script can be limiting us from attaining our full potential. In this linked post (Is Your “Story” Holding You Back? Six Ways to Rewrite It—and Supercharge Your Power by Nancy D. O’Reilly, PsyD) we discover ways our stories are limiting our leadership potential and how to write new stories.

Think of these stories as a complete glossary of all of the lessons we have learned from those who have led us in the past. It is unfortunate that most of these stories are based upon someone’s perceptions about us that may not always be true and upon our interpretation of those lessons that my not be accurate.

Most of these stories are written from situations that did not go well or where mistakes were made. As leaders we have a responsibility to make certain the lessons we teach those who follow us are based upon truth and not a perception of what we think was the reason and motivation for the lesson. Then we need to be very careful and purposeful in how we communicate those lessons so they are interpreted correctly.

So how do we do this?

The formula is a 5-step process:

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