6. Teachable Point of View.
The last two kinds of stories have to do more with the personal life of the leader.
A teachable point of view, a term coined by Noel Tichy in The Leadership Engine, is the story that surrounds a personal leadership learning. Informal leadership development happens best when an experienced leader, in relationship with other leaders, can unpack stories of why they do what they do.
Where did this conviction come from? What led me to develop this skill? Why did I make what seemed to be a counterintuitive decision?
The more that you have thought about your leadership’s teachable points of view, the more often and intentional will be the transference of wisdom in your leadership culture.
Action Step: Take 20 minutes and write down your top 10 learnings as a leader. Write down a few bullet points and begin to flesh out the story behind the learning.
7. Conversion Story.
The last story is the perhaps the most obvious, but I did not want it to go unstated.
In my own leadership life, I have failed the most at rehearsing, in my leadership, the story of my own journey with God at its very beginning. Maybe that’s because it happened when I was in eighth grade. That seems pretty distant from the “important” leadership work of today.
How many people on your leadership team know the details of how you trusted Jesus and how you grew in affection for the Gospel?
Using your own conversation story as a leader is important for at least three reasons. First, it will keep you humble. Second, it’s a personal help to keep the Gospel at the center of all stories. Third, it will model for people the importance of sharing a personal testimony.
Action Step: Create a one-page, two-minute conversion story testimony. Practice sharing it with one person a week, asking the other person to share their conversion story.
