“Just as a compass points toward a magnetic field, your True North pulls you toward the purpose of your leadership. When you follow your internal compass, your leadership will be authentic, and people will naturally want to associate with you. Although others may guide or influence you, your truth is derived from your life story and only you can determine what it should be.”
WOW! That’s just the beginning of Bill George’s book True North! It’s not a new book, but one worth reviewing from time to time. During my current review it helped me to think along the lines of elements that make great leaders and great organizations. Those of you who’ve been around me are already ahead of me. I believe that at the core of ‘authentic, influential leadership’ is knowing, understanding, living and connecting and influencing through your own authentic story.
How Does Your Story Appear?
- What does your story look like to you?
- How does it look to others – team, colleagues, customers, competitors, friends, family?
- What subtle differences can you make in how you frame your story that will allow and propel you to:
- understand yourself better.
- behave differently.
- interact with others differently.
- influence through an elevated message.
- lead from a place of true authenticity and influence.
Here’s the good news – your story is not static. It is evolving every day in response to all the things that happen around you:
- relationships
- health and well-being
- opportunities
- responsibilities
- vision for the future
The list goes on and on. You have the power and responsibility to frame it in the most authentic way you can.
An Example from My Story
Remember when we were kids, how magical stories seemed to us? We all believed in magic then. But, perhaps, as we’ve grown older and taken our respective places as adults, we’ve forgotten about the magic of stories. In fact, we may have forgotten about magic, period.
Deepak Chopra said in his book, The Way of the Wizard, that “a wizard is not someone who can simply perform magic, but someone who can cause transformation”. What medium can transform more readily or easily than a story? And what is the magical, transforming result of stories shared? I believe it’s in the connections we make because we have strengthened our influence by sharing parts of our stories.
Tom Peters said in his book, The Pursuit of WOW, that “even though we are overwhelmed by new technologies, new competitors, new everything, we hold the gift of human attention”. In the age of ever-changing technology, the Internet, texts, email, and our raucous global village, attentiveness — a token of human kindness — is the greatest gift we can give anyone.” After all, it is that attentiveness that provides the connection between hearts, minds and spirits.
On a pre-pandemic trip, I spent over 6 hours in the LA airport because of bad weather, canceled and delayed flights. In 6 hours you can make lots of connections. One elderly gentleman struck up a conversation with me, undaunted by the lengthy wait, excited because it was his first trip to Las Vegas.
In the course of our conversation, he asked me if I was a ‘magician’s assistant’, assuring me in the process I was certainly pretty enough to be one. I thanked him, but said, “No.” I told him I was going to Las Vegas to do some workshops for a financial institution. Interested, he asked what we would be discussing. I told him we were going to talk about communication and how to provide a better customer experience. He thought for a minute and then said, “Darlin,’ if you could do one of them-there workshops at my financial institution and get those folks to smile more often, that truly would be magic.”
The connections we make are important, whether through cyberspace methods, by phone, or face-to-face with a simple smile. Our businesses depend on our connections being magic; our families grow strong because of our connections. Our ability to share ourselves and our stories with others, allowing us to positively influence those whose lives we touch . It’s been said that you can give without serving, but you can’t serve without giving. What better, more magical way to give than by sharing our own authentic stories through connecting and influencing in a positive, sustainable manner.
Why You Should Share Your Story
Sharing your story with others can assist you in: increasing productivity, enhancing performance, transitioning in your leadership role, implementing more positive communication, by simply elevating your message to have greater influence.
Every individual within your organization has a core story. Have you known and/or worked with someone for years? Are you meeting them for the first time? They all have a story. How will their story impact/influence you and your story? What will you learn from each other? How can you elevate your message?
For fear of over-simplifying, it happens when you share relevant and appropriate portions of your authentic story. Sharing happens in words, actions, and in how you work with those you lead. Using portions of your authentic story contributes to building sustainable influence, i.e. your personal legacy!
