Month: November 2021

Rewrite Your Story

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We all have a story to tell, whether in our personal or professional lives. How we tell our story is crucial to achieving our goals.

It is important to recognize that our emotions and our stories are linked. We have the ability to change our stories which means we can change our emotions about those stories as well. When we rewrite our stories in a positive way, we change our feelings and our behaviors for the better, creating a more productive roadmap toward our goals.

As part of our second leadership training last week, each participant was asked to identify two leadership opportunities. After identifying their opportunities, we had each participant write their current story around one of their opportunities. I asked each participant to rank their story on the Fear to Freedom(link is external) scale and write two adjectives that describe their feelings about their story. The most common descriptors of the current stories were frustrated, anxious, stuck, overwhelmed, exhausted, ineffective and nervous. 

Then each participant rewrote their story describing the best possible outcome they could imagine around their leadership challenge using the following Written Positive Intention(link is external) rules. 

  • It is written in past tense (as if it has already happened). 
  • It is written in all positive terms. 
  • It should be hand-written, not typed, if possible. 
  • It identifies the most exceptional outcome you can imagine. 
  • It focuses on how you and others feel about the outcome and the impact you can have if you achieve your positive outcome. 
  • It is always a draft. Modify it over time. Write several versions to identify when your intention is based of fear, which may mean it is self-focused or your ego is showing up. 

The change in each participant’s feelings concerning their leadership opportunity was remarkable. After discussing in small groups how rewriting their stories affected their emotions, I asked participants to share what they learned from the experience. Here are a few of the remarks:

  • “My fear and anxiety are the barrier and that I can control.” 
  • “This is a tool that can help us frame our thoughts to achieve the results we want.” 
  • “Just doing this exercise helped me feel more powerful over the challenge.” 
  • “It really helped me to clarify the specific barriers and hurdles that are making me feel stuck, but also made me see the large number of variables to think through to get to that positive story.” 

We all face leadership opportunities every day. Next time you are feeling overwhelmed and stuck, I would invite you to use the Written Positive Intention(link is external) rulesand rewrite your story.

Listening Tour

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As part of my onboarding at Ohio State, I am embarking on a listening tour and getting to meet leaders from across campus. It is so much fun and inspiring to meet so many committed and talented people. This approach, outlined in The First 90 Days(link is external) by Michael Watkins, is an excellent way to understand an organization, even if you are not new to it. 

The format for each interaction is generally the same. I ask whoever I am meeting with to describe their role and what their team does. I continue by asking them to discuss their strategic goals and what they are concerned about. Many people are surprised that I don’t want them to focus on technology needs, but talk more broadly about what they are trying to accomplish and understand the impact they are trying to make. I also try to minimize the time that I spend talking about me. I end each interview asking the following questions from the book. 

  1. What are the biggest challenges the organization is facing (or will face in the near future)? 
  1. Why is the organization facing (or going to face) these challenges? 
  1. What are the most promising unexploited opportunities for growth? 
  1. What would need to happen for the organization to exploit the potential of these opportunities? 
  1. If you were me, what would you focus attention on? 

I am only partially through the listening tour, but the insights that I have already gained are really helpful and the interactions are energizing. I have appreciated the graciousness of individuals who are open to being my friend in addition to my colleague as I adjust to a new job and home. I have also loved some unexpected perks, like the squash and honey from my tour of the Waterman Farm Complex(link is external). 

When is the last time that your primary focus in a meeting was to listen and learn?