During the Academy Awards ceremony, I noticed a common theme from the presenters and winners, which was the importance of telling a good story. No matter what kind of movie, the best movies have the best stories. The best actors typically come from the best movies.
Continue reading “Tell Oscar-Worthy Stories”Lessons From a Master Storyteller
I had the pleasure of hearing E. Gordon Gee speak at a dinner several years ago when I taught in the Integrated Marketing Communications program at West Virginia University. I was so impressed with his ability to connect with the audience that I wrote an article about it back then and included his story in my book, “Prescribing Leadership in Healthcare.” He uses a lot of self-deprecating humor in his stories because it leads to high viral probability when posted on social media.
Here is the video from the event. Even if you only watch part the video, you will learn something about incorporating storytelling into your daily leadership practice.
Continue reading “Lessons From a Master Storyteller”2019 ELITE LEADERSHIP IMPACT AWARD RECIPIENT – CHRIS VAN GORDER
We are very excited to present our inaugural Elite Leadership IMPACT Award to Chris Van Gorder, President and CEO of Scripps Health. He has been regularly recognized for his leadership across all industries, not just in healthcare. His impact can be observed in the culture he has created at Scripps. From the parking lot attendants to the healthcare providers, they are all focused on the mission to provide the best care for their patients and families.
Read more about Chris’ Impact.
Storytelling With My Family
As we prepare for the launch of our Storytelling for Leaders Master Class, I’ve reflected on my life as a story gatherer and storyteller. I’ve loved writing and telling stories since I was young. Family interactions can be some of the most impactful stories to tell.
I heard stories from my great-grandparents as they told us about growing up on farms in Louisiana. I vividly remember my great-grandmother telling us about how they would get a chicken from the farm for dinner.
Continue reading “Storytelling With My Family”Empower Your Storytelling With the ‘Right Stuff’
Leaders need to be good storytellers, but if their storytelling doesn’t have the ‘Right Stuff,’ it may not be as effective.
Watch the video to learn about delivering the:
- Right Story, to the
- Right Audience, at the
- Right Time, with the
- Right Message
Leaving a Legacy
While watching the various stories about Kobe Bryant’s life, I realized that he was the prototypical athlete that the professional leadership development process (PLP) was based on. The PLP is based on how professional and Olympic athletes who, no matter how good they are, continue to work at their craft to continue improving. These athletes start with a high level of skills or abilities, but it’s their drive and determination that sets them apart from the rest. Kobe didn’t have to take 1,000 shots a day. He could have had a long, financially rewarding career just being an good NBA player, but that’s not what he wanted. He wanted to be the best, so that meant continuing to work as his game and keep improving throughout his career.
Continue reading “Leaving a Legacy”“Free Your Mind,” Matrix Style With Great Stories
As we learned in “The Matrix”, perception is not always reality. That is also true to when it comes to leadership. Leaders are only as good as their people perceive them to be.
In our Professional Leadership Training programs, we address the perception versus reality dichotomy with a peer assessment. Participants are usually surprised to see that what they considered to be their leadership attributes were not what their peers thought, both positively and negatively.
Continue reading ““Free Your Mind,” Matrix Style With Great Stories”Tales From the Leadership Front – Origin Stories
At the end of each chapter in my book Prescribing Leadership in Healthcare, I tell a personal “Tales from the Leadership Front” story to summarize the chapter content with insights from the leaders I’ve met.
In my travels I get to meet some great leaders and am thrilled when we discuss their leadership journey. I especially enjoy hearing their leadership origin story or what in their life made them into the leader they are today. A leader must be aware of their origin story to understand who they are as a leader and why they are leading. As Simon Sinek says, ‘knowing the why’ is critical to their success.
Continue reading “Tales From the Leadership Front – Origin Stories”Dr. Martin Luther King Was Also a Great Storyteller
We all recognize Dr. Martin Luther King as a great leader and a great orator, but did you know he was also a master storyteller?
In my university leadership classes, we regularly study Dr. King as a leader and I have listened to his speeches countless times. As I was working on the new Leadership Storytelling Master Class for our Professional Leadership Academy, I began reflecting on Dr. King’s accomplishments and his speeches. His accomplishments came to mind because I probably wouldn’t be doing the work I do without the strides he helped make. His speeches were great, but I wondered how they worked as stories. I was quite impressed with what I learned. For this exercise, I examined his March on Washington speech from 1963 (commonly referred to as the “I Have a Dream” speech). Here are some of the storytelling techniques he used and the lessons for leaders to use in their storytelling:
Continue reading “Dr. Martin Luther King Was Also a Great Storyteller”Recapping 2019 Achievements; Preparing for 2020 Goals
This has been a great year for us at the Healthcare Center of Excellence. Our distinctive approach to leadership development has enabled us to continue reaching people with our personalized, adaptable and measurable Professional Leadership Program. Here is a recap of some of our 2019 achievements, including:
Continue reading “Recapping 2019 Achievements; Preparing for 2020 Goals”