May, 2015

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Dear *|FNAME|*,

What’s your story? 

I was inspired recently by Dave Isay’s TED talk about his Storycorp journey and the new app that will allow anyone to participate in his “Wish for Humanity.”

His message is powerful in that everyone has a story to tell.  So, why is it that we discount or overlook the significance of our experiences when we write up our bios, or introduce ourselves at an event?  It’s natural to want to shine a light on our successes, and our passions.  All too often, however, there’s a tendency to hold back on sharing the profound challenges or failures that, ultimately, turned out to be a gift of personal development and growth. 

Whether you’re repackaging yourself for your next career opportunity, rewriting your bio, or introducing yourself on that proverbial elevator ride, consider the following questions to shift your story to one of intrigue and authenticity to stand out.

Jacqueline Franklin
IPEC Certified Professional Coach
Energy Leadership Master Practitioner

Coach2Growth helps Executives and Corporate Leaders, Business Leaders, and Leaders in Transition grow by capitalizing on their strengths to lead and partner. With our guidance, business people achieve more, gain recognition, and grow and prosper fearlessly.

What's Your Story?

Most of us have enriching backstories that never make it to the front page because we fear it will show us in a less than favorable light.  We tend to keep our introductions chronological, title-focused, and dare I say, sleep-inducing.

A typical introduction goes something like this,

“Hi, I’m Jane, the Senior Director of Marketing at XXX, with 25 + years of sales and marketing leadership experience working in the XXX industry.”

And, while all that is true, Jane, what if you could take that up a notch, such that the “thought bubble” of the people listening would exclaim, “Now, that’s someone I’d like to know more about!” or “She’s someone with whom I’d like to partner.”

What if Jane’s introduction went like this instead?

“Hi, I’m Jane, I help business leaders grow revenue and profits because I’ve learned plenty (sometimes the hard way) about what makes customer’s tick and stick with us for life.”

From here, and if time allows, Jane can expound on her back-story and lessons learned.  Eventually, she may get to her years of experience, title and other areas of expertise.  Or, it may not be necessary.

When I help clients craft their stories, I start broadly with questions to draw out what makes them tick, and what significant moments contributed to their leadership arsenal.  Some questions seem silly on the surface; others give you cause to pause.  Few of the literal answers to these questions will make it into a bio or an interview, but they draw out the necessary context and energy that is so often missing from someone’s personal introduction or story. 

Ultimately, these questions are designed to cull primary areas of strength and differentiation, passion, and desired company culture (or lifestyle), all of which fits nicely into a Venn diagram, the intersection of which is your sweet spot.  This forms the foundation of your story from which your LinkedIn Summary, resume, elevator spiel and introduction emanates. 

Download the Coach2Growth “What’s Your Story?” Tool. 

New & Improved Coach2Growth Web Site

Please visit our new and improved Coach2Growth web site to learn more about leadership coaching. As always, we welcome your comments.

“Jacqueline was the facilitator and leadership coach for my “living group” during the Harvard General Management Program. She helped our team, from extremely diverse backgrounds and geographies, capitalize on its strengths, and to problem solve effectively.  Jacqueline also provided a strong sounding board to me personally through one-on-one coaching.  As a result, our team performed optimally, and I was able to hit the ground running when I returned to my company.”

-- Anjana Narain, Vice President, Vaccine Commercialization Leader (VCL),
Flu Franchise at GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals

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