Topic guide / Storytelling
Leadership Through Storytelling
People forget slides. They remember the story about the leader who sat down next to a twenty-year technician and asked to be taught the job.
Why stories work
A principle such as “build trust” is easy to agree with and hard to practice. A story shows what the principle looks like on an ordinary Tuesday: the decision, the mistake, the people involved, and what happened next. It gives a team a shared reference point they can return to.
How to tell a leadership story
Tom’s own rule is to share hard lessons honestly—and not to embellish them. Exaggeration weakens credibility; authenticity builds it. A useful leadership story usually has:
- A real situation and real stakes
- A choice the leader had to make
- What went wrong as well as what went right
- One lesson someone else can use
Using stories with a team
Storyboards, monthly letters, and short stories in meetings are all ways Tom has seen leaders spread lessons through an organization. Ask your team which experience changed the way they work, and you’ll often learn more than any engagement survey can tell you.
