| We have the great fortune to hear a lot of stories. Each project tells its own story through its gifts, challenges and opportunities. Part of our work is to help our partners understand their own stories and discover new ways to articulate and share them. Each of these stories, with their commonalities and nuances, help us on our own journey of discovering ourself through others. This month we bring you tips on discovering the power of your own story.
Clarify your message
Though seemingly simple, it is often forgotten: every story needs a clear message. We’ve all experienced someone relaying a recently watched movie– scene, by scene, by scene. AVOID THAT. Choose a message, a purpose and commit to it. Throughout our work with University of Cincinnati’s James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, their message was clear: Lead. Care. Transform. Each story they tell is an opportunity to further root themselves into this shared vision.
Embrace the struggle
Every GREAT story requires a struggle. Storytelling gives each of us a chance to be vulnerable and make connections through that vulnerability. One of the greatest gifts that we can give each other is sharing in our struggles with each other. Here at MECC, we struggle with attaining balance. We love expanding our work, embarking into new experiences and approaching projects with new lenses, and our best work is often in places where things are messy. This creative dissonance is where our best work happens. And to be fully present in this space requires us to care for each other. By embracing the struggle, we embrace each other.
Motivate and inspire
Part of storytelling is to inspire others. To do that, we have to ask what is it that inspires us each day. When we partner with an organization to help them with their strategic plan, one of the first questions we ask is, “Why are you passionate about this place? or Why is working here personally important to you?” Often, this question alone inspires the whole team to engage in deep storytelling about what gets them out of bed in the morning and captivates them about their shared work and impact. Starting from this space of common passions allows the group to forge ahead in the sometimes difficult conversations and challenging tasks that often result when a group is trying to get clear about who they are, what they do and how they do it. Sharing in passions fuel us through the process.
Our story is unique and evolves each time we take a risk, invest in new work, or partner with new people. And we love to share our story! What is your story? |
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