So, What’s Your Story?
“So, tell me your story,” is the prompt that kicks off many networking conversations I’ve had over the last few years. My response isn’t a listing of facts of experience, a-la-resume. No. The answer is a narrative from the stand out events that sent me on the trajectory I’m currently on. It’s a journey through the challenges I faced along the way, my beliefs and actions in response, and the evolution of my professional identity–decorated with my personal values and the commitments I’ve made in alignment with “what I do.” It is personal, professional, whole-picture sharing.
Sharing your story as a story is more critical in today’s professional landscape than ever before. Responding to “What do you do?” with a title or role is no longer enough to find the right fit work experience or to really explore the potential in a networking conversation. The underlying asks in “What do you do?” are Who are you? What do you care about? Who do you be?
Why?
We are bringing our whole selves to work and expecting more meaningful experiences from our work. Finding the right fit employer, partners, and projects where we can thrive as our whole selves requires a more holistic approach to right-sizing opportunities.
Increasingly, skills are commodities. What we do is far less differentiating than how we approach our work, our mindsets, and the values we’ll bring to the collective of who we’re working with. Even if some are more skilled at their skills, skills can be developed, while our intrinsic personhood is far harder to force fit if we’re a square peg in a round hole. Sharing our story differentiates us and helps us stand-out among competitive candidates.
But more important, I think, than finding the right fit and differentiating ourselves is using our own story as a source of strength and guidance for ourselves. When we see our experiences as more than just a series of random facts, but as a story that hangs together as a story, we can appreciate our capabilities in a new light. We see the challenges we’ve overcome. We find our values based on the beliefs and actions that dictated the journey. And we empathize with ourselves as we would a character in a story. In this way, understanding our needs and strengths can be a source of encouragement and a way to determine the right steps to move ourselves forward.
Just as brands need a purpose–articulated to unify and inspire their stakeholders, a north star to guide how to deliver the everyday brand experiences–individuals can benefit from knowing their story and purpose. When you take the time to understand the meaning and patterns of your past experiences in conjunction with your future aspirations, you develop self-awareness and discernment for what’s right, or not, moving forward. Your story becomes your north star.
I’ve always loved seeing the light-bulb moments brand teams have when we workshop their org’s brand narrative. Clients have said, “We understand ourselves in a way we never have before” just from the workshop alone–prior to any brand strategy or purpose articulation.
As I’ve started doing this work with solopreneurs and individual professionals, I’m seeing the same sort of magic and illumination taking place. But there is something extra I’m witnessing that brings a smile to my face as I type these words–a joyful a-ha to the discovery of one’s individual story that is hard to put words to. It’s a look that captures the feelings I’ve felt when I’ve come to moments of clarity and a sense of knowingness about who I am and what I’m capable of doing in this world.
So, what’s your story?
