In my September 20th post, I shared how 2 of my 16 teams of Purdue students took up my challenge to take a risk in networking by asking someone BIG if they could interview them. One team reached out to the founders of GoRuck – and landed an interview. Another team reached really high and reached out to Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. There were lots of messages via Facebook, and a few phone calls and emails with Steve and his wife. They were set until a sudden trip to Africa foiled the plans.
Fast forward to this semester. Same presentation on networking. Same assignment to find an entrepreneur to video. This time, though, I told the story of the two teams that aimed high last year. I ended with a challenge for them to think big, too.
A week later, each of my teams reported out on who they were interviewing. Out of my 8 teams – 6 of them had reached high – amazingly high. Only two were doing local folks or parents or neighbors. This dramatic increase was a result of a simple story that took all of about 3 minutes to share.
There are two parts to this dramatic shift – the first being that, as a leader, I signaled an expectation via story that was memorable and inspiring.
The second part is, that the story enabled them to see what someone just like them could do if they took a risk. Not what business people, but what other students who are looking for someone to interview, do to network. The message was unstated but clear – if other students could do it, so could they.
Good leaders use story to signal. They use them to make a point, to set expectations and to instill confidence that others just like them have risen to similar challenges.
What leadership stories have you told recently?
One Response
Kris: Love this example and just posted on my LinkedIn page. Great reminder and what a cool example of story telling in action. Purdue is lucky to have you. MAR