The Importance of Sharing Your Story as a Leader | Ann Marie Heiser

The Importance of Sharing Your Story as a Leader Ann Marie Heiser

In the world that we live in, everyone has a story to tell. But like leadership, storytelling isn't an inborn gift.

Business leaders should learn storytelling to engage and inspire their teams. Surprisingly, people don't only engage with companies because of their products and services. People support what aligns with their beliefs or a course they are passionate about.

Every business has a unique story that is glued in their values, mission, and vision. Before the company existed, there was a person with a goal. The person founded the business with a set of values and beliefs. In a chaotic world with tons of things that divide us, these stories and values enable us to remain connected.

Sharing A Story Versus an Opinion Every person has their own point of view. The only challenging thing is that we consider our opinions ‘right' and anything contrary inherently 'wrong.' In most cases, opinions divide us further.

On the flip side, a story describes an experience. It is defined as a series of events that made a person who they are. In layman's language, a story describes the evolution of something. An opinion is all about our views, while a story elaborates why we share those views.

As a leader, it is essential to share your story to inspire your followers. Here's what to consider to differentiate between our stories and opinions.

Ask Why For leaders to know their stories, they need to ask themselves what inspires their opinion. If they get curious to understand their views, they will find out why they believe in specific ideas. The more they understand what makes them who they are, the more resourceful information they can give others.

Be Mindful When Sharing Information Leaders can share their values without making other people "wrong" for not having the same thoughts. For example, if a person chooses to be vegan, they can politely say, "I choose to be vegan to enhance my health," rather than saying, "people shouldn't take meat because it's being brutal to animals."

It's simply sharing ideas without crucifying others for not following your path. Creating a space could be an invitation for someone else to reconsider their point of view.

By sharing stories, leaders can help their followers move beyond the curtain of polarization and politics and remember people with pure feelings and belief systems still exist.

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