How to create your leadership origin story
Learn to craft your leadership origin story to connect with your team, communicate values, and inspire trust through shared experiences.
Your leadership origin story is a powerful tool to connect with your team, communicate your values, and build trust. It’s about sharing the key moments, challenges, and lessons that have shaped how you lead today. Here’s what you need to know:
- Why it matters: A well-crafted story builds trust, improves communication, and helps you understand your own leadership style.
- What to include: Focus on defining moments like overcoming challenges, mentoring others, or making pivotal decisions.
- How to structure it: Use a simple narrative arc - set the scene, explain the challenge, describe your response, and share the outcome.
- Tailor your story: Adapt it for different audiences, whether mentoring, team meetings, or public speaking.
- Keep it relevant: Update your story as you grow, adding new experiences and lessons.
Your origin story isn’t just about the past - it’s a tool for inspiring and guiding your team through present and future challenges.
Finding Your Key Leadership Moments
Key Moments That Shaped You
Think back to experiences that had a major impact on how you lead. These moments should reflect your growth and development as a leader.
Examples of Key Moments:
- Turning around critical projects
- Resolving team conflicts
- Making strategic decisions with major consequences
- Recovering from unexpected setbacks
- Mentoring others or being mentored
- Achieving important educational milestones
- Navigating career transitions
- Moving to new cultural or geographical environments
- Taking on management responsibilities for the first time
- Handling crises
- Leading innovation efforts
- Collaborating across different teams or departments
Focus on times when you took a chance, learned from mistakes, adapted your approach, or found your core values.
Choosing Which Events to Include
Not every impactful moment fits into your leadership story. The challenge is to pick experiences that:
- Show Growth: Highlight moments that clearly demonstrate how your leadership evolved.
- Relate to Your Current Role: Include experiences that tie into your present challenges and goals. For example, if you're managing a digital transformation, share examples of handling change or adopting new technologies.
- Engage Your Audience: Tailor your stories to the people you're addressing. If you're speaking to junior managers, share early career lessons that shaped your leadership style.
Use these criteria to evaluate which moments to include:
| Criteria | Questions to Ask |
|---|---|
| Relevance | Does this experience connect to current leadership challenges? |
| Impact | How did this moment leave a lasting mark on your leadership approach? |
| Authenticity | Can you share this story with genuine emotion and sincerity? |
| Clarity | Is the takeaway or lesson from this moment easy to understand and remember? |
| Timeliness | Is this experience still relevant to your leadership journey today? |
Writing Your Leadership Story
Building a Clear Story Structure
Craft your leadership story using a straightforward narrative arc:
Setting the Scene
- Provide context for the situation where your leadership was tested.
- Highlight your role at the time.
- Outline the challenges or opportunities you encountered.
The Challenge
- Describe the obstacle, crisis, or opportunity that put your leadership to the test.
- Explain what was at risk for you, your team, or your organisation.
Your Response
- Share the actions and decisions you made, along with the reasoning behind them.
- Explain how you collaborated with others and utilised available resources.
The Outcome
- Detail the immediate and longer-term results of your efforts.
- Highlight the impact on people, processes, or overall performance.
- Reflect on the leadership lessons you gained from the experience.
This structure helps connect your personal experience to practical leadership insights.
What to Keep and What to Cut
What you include - or leave out - can make or break your story. Use this guide to refine your narrative:
| Element | Keep | Cut |
|---|---|---|
| Details | Specific actions and decisions showcasing leadership | Personal details that don't tie back to leadership |
| Context | Key background information framing the challenge | Long, technical explanations that distract |
| People | Crucial relationships and interactions shaping outcomes | Names and roles with no real significance |
| Emotions | Genuine feelings that influenced your decisions | Overly dramatic or unnecessary emotional details |
| Outcomes | Tangible results with lasting effects | Small achievements or short-lived successes |
Different Ways to Frame Your Story
Pick a framing approach that complements the narrative structure while keeping your story cohesive from start to finish:
The Growth Journey
Focus on how a specific challenge reshaped your leadership. For instance, you could discuss how handling a failed project helped you prioritise transparency and improve team communication.
Values in Action
Build your story around a core leadership value. Show how this value was challenged and ultimately reinforced through your experience.
Innovation and Change
Highlight how you navigated major transitions or introduced new ideas. Emphasise your ability to adapt and guide others through change.
Relationship Building
Tell your story through the lens of forming and maintaining key relationships. Demonstrate how connecting with others amplified your leadership impact.
Telling Your Story Well
Speaking Your Story
Sharing your leadership origin story goes beyond memorising a script. It’s about being genuine, creating an emotional connection, and presenting yourself with professionalism.
Focus on Your Main Message
Your story needs a clear theme that strikes a chord with your audience. For example, if your story revolves around overcoming uncertainty, highlight the critical decisions and lessons that helped you navigate challenging times.
Tailor Your Delivery
Different settings require different storytelling styles:
| Setting | Approach | Key Focus |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one mentoring | Conversational, detailed | Personal growth and specific lessons |
| Team meetings | Inclusive, relatable | Shared experiences and team dynamics |
| Board presentations | Concise, results-focused | Strategic insights and business impact |
| Public speaking | Engaging, structured | Universal leadership principles |
These approaches help connect your message to your audience in a meaningful way.
Create Emotional Connection
Share real moments that showcase your growth. Talk about the challenges you’ve faced and how they’ve influenced your leadership style. Being open about your journey builds trust, which is essential for fostering engagement and productivity.
Use Active Storytelling Techniques
- Maintain eye contact to keep your audience engaged.
- Use gestures intentionally to emphasise key points.
- Adjust your speaking pace to match the emotional tone of your story.
- Pause briefly to allow your audience to reflect on important moments.
Updating Your Story Over Time
Your story isn’t static; it should grow and evolve as you do. Regularly revisiting and refining your narrative ensures it stays relevant.
Add New Experiences
Keep your story current by including recent challenges and achievements. Think about how these experiences complement or reshape your central message.
Stay Genuine
As you progress in your leadership journey, ensure your storytelling reflects both where you’ve been and where you are now. Connect past lessons to present challenges to show growth, reinforce your values, and maintain credibility.
Evaluate Your Impact
Pay attention to how your story resonates with different audiences. Notice which parts spark the most interest, the questions people ask, and how various groups respond to specific examples.
Using Your Story to Lead
Stories as Leadership Tools
Your leadership story isn’t just a look back at the past - it’s a way to inspire trust and guide your team through challenges. By sharing your journey, you can connect with your team on a deeper level and lead more effectively.
Building Team Resilience
Key moments from your story can highlight resilience. When your team faces tough times, sharing how you overcame challenges in the past can help them see setbacks as stepping stones to growth.
| Story Element | Leadership Impact | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Personal challenges | Builds empathy | During team setbacks |
| Growth moments | Inspires development | Performance reviews |
| Key decisions | Demonstrates values | Strategic planning |
| Learning experiences | Encourages innovation | Change management |
Creating Cultural Alignment
Your story should reflect the values of your organisation. By sharing the experiences that shaped your leadership style, you can help your team better understand and align with the company’s mission.
Beyond aligning values, your story can drive change during critical moments. Whether it’s team transitions, goal setting, or crisis management, linking past challenges to present solutions can provide clarity and direction.
How Leadership Story Bank Can Help
Leadership Story Bank offers structured support to craft and share your leadership narrative effectively.
Craft Your Core Message
Through focused exercises, you can identify the key moments of your journey to create a narrative that feels genuine and resonates with your audience.
Enhance Your Delivery
The platform equips you with tools to:
- Tailor your story to fit different situations
- Build emotional connections with your audience
- Measure how your story is received
Develop Strategic Storytelling Skills
Leadership Story Bank helps you become a more self-aware and impactful communicator. By integrating your personal journey with practical leadership techniques, you can harness storytelling as a powerful tool for connection and influence.
“Telling your Leadership Origin Story” with Rory McGloin, Ph.D.
Conclusion: Put Your Story to Work
Your leadership story grows and changes as you do. A well-told story helps build trust and contributes to the success of your organisation.
Making Your Story Work for You
Your leadership narrative should align with your current role while staying true to your journey. Strong communication skills are key to making it impactful. Whether you're steering through change or boosting team resilience, your story should adjust to fit different leadership situations.
Keeping Your Story Relevant
Revisit and refine your story after key moments or challenges, such as:
- Major career achievements
- New leadership roles
- Organisational shifts
- Important learning experiences
Tracking Its Effectiveness
Pay attention to how your audience responds during meetings, one-to-ones, or presentations. Use their feedback to fine-tune your delivery and keep improving your narrative.
The best leadership stories combine honesty with strategy, helping you build deeper connections with your team. Storytelling in leadership isn’t just about recounting events - it’s about creating bonds that inspire action and build trust. By regularly updating and refining your story, you strengthen your leadership identity and motivate those around you.
FAQs
How can I choose the most impactful leadership moments for my origin story?
To craft a compelling leadership origin story, focus on moments that showcase your values, growth, and ability to inspire others. Reflect on pivotal experiences in your life and career where you demonstrated resilience, innovation, or the ability to unite and motivate others.
Prioritise events that align with your leadership style and the message you want to convey. Think about what will resonate most with your audience and highlight moments that illustrate your journey, lessons learnt, and how they shaped the leader you are today.
How can I tailor my leadership story to suit different audiences or situations?
Adapting your leadership story for different audiences or situations requires thoughtfulness and flexibility. Start by understanding your audience - what are their interests, challenges, and values? Highlight the aspects of your story that resonate most with them, whether it’s overcoming adversity, achieving results, or demonstrating empathy.
Consider the context as well. For example, when addressing a team, you might emphasise collaboration and shared goals, whereas with stakeholders, you could focus on strategic thinking and measurable outcomes. Keep your story concise, relatable, and aligned with the message you want to convey. A well-framed story not only engages but also leaves a lasting impression.
How often should I refresh my leadership origin story to keep it relevant and impactful?
Your leadership origin story should be revisited and updated periodically to ensure it reflects your current experiences, growth, and goals. While there’s no fixed timeline, you might consider reviewing it after significant career milestones, personal achievements, or changes in your leadership role.
Updating your story ensures it stays authentic and resonates with your audience, whether you're leading a team, influencing stakeholders, or navigating new challenges. By keeping it fresh and aligned with your evolving journey, you’ll maintain its relevance and impact.
