In a world that is becoming more connected and disconnected, simultaneously. We must continue to understand the power of our story.
Many of today’s leaders are incredibly connected to their organization and the work they are trying to accomplish. More days and longer hours have become the norm, more than the exception. With the advent of technology, more and more are connected to their work and organization continuously. And many of those same expectations roll down hill.
Leaders engage their people and teams with higher and higher expectations…of what is possible and what needs to be achieved. Which ultimately requires more days at work, more hours at work, more time spent together.
And yet, for all of this extended time, we still have little to no knowledge or understanding of those very people sitting across from us. Their families, their goals, their troubles, their anxieties, their triumphs, their outside lives. Their story.
We find ourselves disconnected from the people that we sit across the table from each day…
Disconnected from the very same people that we go to battle with each day to achieve our goals and vision of a better organization, of a better future. And while this disconnect may be subtle, understanding it may very well serve as a difference maker for the ongoing success of a leader and an organization.
Our stories weave together to create the fabric of our organization…
And when a leader sews those stories together, they create a blanket of trust, understanding and unity that not only strengthens the organization, but invokes empathy, compassion and understanding.
Engaging around our stories may very well be the difference maker. Especially in a time where more and more people are claiming to be disenchanted with their leaders and organizations. In a time when people are craving “real” connection.
According to a recent Gallup Poll, upwards of 70% of Americans admit they are disengaged from their job, their work.
Our stories both differentiate and bring us together. It is the work of the leader to sew these stories together. Great leaders sew the patchwork of our stories into a grand blanket, one that envelops the organization in trust, compassion and closeness. Which is vital, especially in a time when people find themselves disenchanted and disengaged with their leaders and organizations.
If we relate and create understanding through our stories, how can trust and unity ever flourish in our organizations if we never share and engage around those stories?
DCulberhouse 
Many of the things you say in this blog post resonate with me David. Such a powerful thing, to be able to see life and work from the perspective of other’s who have vastly different experiences and personal stories. During the workshops I lead and presentations I give, I always emphasize that it is our personal stories that shape who we are as educators, the uniqueness that makes us distinctly different yet unites us at the same time.
We must be aware of this is we are to better connect and to understand that we are all in it to win it so to speak. Thanks for this post David.