Leadership Storytelling

What Is Leadership?

The individuals who are the leaders in an organization, regarded collectively. The activity of leading a group of people or an organization or the ability to do this.

Leadership involves:

Establishing a clear vision,
Sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly,
Providing the information, knowledge and methods to realize that vision, and
Coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and stakeholders.

A leader steps up in times of crisis, and is able to think and act creatively in difficult situations. Unlike management, leadership cannot be taught, although it may be learned and enhanced through coaching or mentoring. The act of inspiring subordinates to perform and engage in achieving a goal.

Leadership has nothing to do with seniority or one’s position in the hierarchy of a company. Too many people talk about a company’s leadership referring to the senior most executives in the organization. They are just that, senior executives. Leadership doesn’t automatically happen when you reach a certain pay grade. Hopefully you find it there, but there are no guarantees.

Leadership has nothing to do with titles. Similar to the point above, just because you have a ‘Chief’ level title, doesn’t automatically make you a “leader.” In all of my talks I stress the fact that you don’t need a title to lead. In fact, you can be a leader in your place of worship, your neighborhood, in your family, all without having a title.

Leadership has nothing to do with personal attributes. Say the word “leader” and most people think of a domineering, take-charge charismatic individual. We often think of icons from history like Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. But leadership isn’t an adjective. We don’t need extroverted charismatic traits to practice leadership. And those with charisma don’t automatically lead.

Leadership isn’t management. This is the big one. Leadership and management are not synonymous. Good management is needed. Managers need to plan, measure, monitor, coordinate, solve, hire, fire, and so many other things. Typically, managers manage things. Leaders lead people. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.

What Is Business Storytelling?

Storytelling has emerged as a prominent trend in the business world as organizations look to enhance brand awareness and loyalty by telling compelling stories about their products and services. Television commercials often use a story angle to position products and services, and companies tap the digital media with the hope of going viral as part of their content marketing strategy.

The Importance of Business Storytelling Nowadays.

Telling stories have been inflicted upon us ever since childhood. It’s the way we learned how to create a personal connection to an event, people or things. In the past decade or so storytelling has become one of the most efficient business strategies. Examples of efficient storytelling in business industry are numerous. A good story should be touching in some way, have effective meaning, offer a solution for a current problem of the society. Storytelling is an integral part of design thinking and business; branding is storytelling, design tells a story, the applications of storytelling to business are endless. The fact that stories sell is evidenced by the success of TedX, Humans of New York, and Kickstarter.

Storytelling and Branding.

Weaving a tale is not just for businesses. The art of storytelling has become an important component of building a personal branding strategy as workers attempt to stand out in a tough employment market. Employees who develop a compelling story line have a better chance of advancing within the organization and increasing their compensation. Positioning yourself within the framework of a story can be an important part of a performance appraisal and other documentation of your work.

"Business Leaders should be a good communicator and a great storyteller."

SHAH AL-GHAZALI

Founder of SAZ Diversify Legacy

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Participants will understand the importance of Leadership not just in an organization, but also in daily life. They will be exposed to various skills and techniques for the different desired outcomes. In small groups, the participants will apply the techniques to produce compelling stories to:

Understanding of own personality and motivations, recognition of strengths/weaknesses and the need to improve in particular areas, awareness of others’ perceptions of oneself.
Reflecting on events, their outcomes, and what can be learned from them; being more analytical and thoughtful in one’s decisions; thinking through possible outcomes of future actions.
Setting goals and strategies for achieving them, being more organized and systematic.
Being more sensitive to others, handling conflict in a constructive manner, developing better relationships.
Making changes in one’s personal life, primarily in the areas of balance and health.
Seeing oneself less as the single leader with all the answers and more as one who involves others, seeks knowledge from others, and shares leadership responsibility with others.
Understanding how styles of managing vary by person and situation.
Seeing learning as self-directed and continuous.
Feeling positive about one’s ability and the actions one takes.

The training will cover:

“What Is Leadership?” – This section explains the definition of leadership, see the qualities that leaders possess, and discover that leaders are not born, but developed.
“The Traits of a Leader” – This section explains how to use positive thought and talk to your advantage, develop vision, and build your own confidence.
“Leadership Styles” – This section explains about several different styles of leadership, the merits and downsides to each, and how to determine which style is right for you.
“Communicating as a Leader” – This section explains how to communicate as a leader using effective language and nonverbal communication.
“Successful Speeches and Presentations” – In this chapter, you will learn how to construct and deliver a successful speech and presentation. You’ll also learn how to use visual aids to your advantage.
“Managing Performance” – This section explains how to set goals for your group, how to encourage teamwork, how to manage telecommuters, and how to use feedback and rewards.
“Improving Your Team” – This section explains how to give your team members more confidence, delegate, and advertise your group, as well as the importance of respecting seniority.
“Worst Leadership Mistakes” – This section explains about some of the common pitfalls people in a position of leadership fall into and how to avoid them. Although a leader may strive to manage performance, inspire her team, and gain the support and trust of that team, things don’t always turn out as planned.
“Caution” – This section explains some of the most common mistakes made by leaders, new and old, and offers alternatives and solutions to help avoid these situations. Don’t overestimate yourself. If you go into a leadership situation thinking you’re prepared for and capable of handling any and every situation, think again. A modest amount of egotism is inherent in any leader, but a true leader also recognizes the fact that she will learn as much from her team as her team will learn from her. If a new leader, you may find yourself in a situation where you are expected to manage a team that has been allowed to become lethargic in other words, a team that is not used to being led by an effective manager. Or, you may have an ideal team except for one problem employee. One bad apple may not spoil the whole bunch, but can go a long way toward derailing the goals of the whole bunch. Last, the new leader may let his lack of management experience show by over-reacting or letting his team see that they are capable of playing on his weaknesses. Whatever the case, there will be bumps along the road for any manager or leader. Why? Because managing humans is much harder than managing the most sophisticated computers. Humans are complicated, diverse, and imperfect. While those diversities and imperfections are often things to be celebrated, they provide unlimited opportunities for friction.
“Nonstandard Techniques” – This section explains how to encourage and direct creativity, when to use humor, and how to ethically persuade and manipulate your team.
“Creativity” – This section explains how to use your imagination to innovate or create something that is not an imitation of anything else.
“Avoiding Micromanagement” – This section explains the definition of micromanagement, the characteristics of a micro-manager, and how to trust your team and tolerate mistakes.
“Transformational Leadership” – This section explains about transformation leadership, the qualities of a transformation leader, how to plan for long-term success, and how to achieve some relatively quick successes.
“Troubleshooting” – This section explains how to recognize problems early, how to best resolve problems and confrontations, and how to win over a hostile group.
“Nurturing and Mentoring” – This section explains how to help your staff grow their talent, and how to be a role model and a mentor.
“Women in Leadership” – This section explains about the special challenges women face in getting to and maintaining leadership positions.
“Young or Minority Leaders” – This section explains about some special challenges that young and minority leaders face.

NOTE: Should you need any further information or for the training booking, do not feel hesitate to CONTACT US. We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future.