How did we get here/
Where are we going to now/
Answers leaders need/
Ha2ku by ha2tim
It is the responsibility of leadership to provide his tribe with a vision. This vision provides the motivational force that not only moves the group but moves the indivduals in the group to better themselves. The leader should be able to create a map that helps the the group see where they are, how they got there and most importantly where they are going. This requires the leader to pull on a important part of his/her humanity that has been casted away in modern times, and that is the role of story teller.
In ancient times the story teller was the keeper of the history, morals and goals of the the tribe. A good story has the power to pull people in and give them hope and "the Will" (inspiration) to work toward bringing the story to life. We have let this quality go in our organizations, thinking that stories are for children or people in entertainment. But i would argue that it is one of the most important traits of being a
good leader.
Today people are looking for those individuals who can weave a story together. This skill comes in really needed when the people are in desperate times because it reminds the group of their bonds, and common goals. Of course you can give people charts and statistics, but this does not satisfy their true needs. They want to be reassured and a good leader can call on these skills to help the people tap into their very essence and create miracles. Being able to tell a story does more than motivate it inspires people. What leaders forget or may not know because of the way we were taught to view the world is that we are spiritual beings. A leader can use motivation techniques but that is not enough s/he needs to be able to reach into our very being and touch the spirit of their group. When we look at the word "inspire" we can see that it speaks of "the spirit within". So when a leader inspire by the use of story, s/he reaches in and touches the spirit of the person. Now there are institutions that do this on a weekly basis, but the question we have to wrestle with is what are they reaching in to touch the spirit for (but that is another blog for another day). So leaders take the time to construct the story of your tribe, organization, or business. Pull on the information you have and construct it to answer some basic questions:
1. Where are we at
2. How did we get here
3. Where are we going
4. Challenges that lie on the path
5. How will we get there
Brother Ha2tim
SelfMasteryCoach
Nation Builder
Urban Shaman
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