CHAPTER 3 - PROTOCOL 6

Leadership Origin Story

TIME45-60 minutes
OWNERPrincipal or leader
ARTIFACTLeadership origin story + intended-use note
SUCCESS CRITERIA
  1. The story centers a genuine formative moment rather than a résumé.
  2. It connects experience to a present leadership belief.
  3. The story acknowledges complexity without manufacturing drama.
  4. The leader identifies when sharing the story would serve others.
IMPLEMENTATION STEPS
01

Select the formative moment

Choose an experience that altered your understanding of leadership, learning, power, or belonging.

02

Find the meaning

Identify what you believed before, what the moment revealed, and what belief you carry now.

03

Shape the story

Draft a concise arc: context, tension, turning point, learning, and current commitment.

04

Choose the use

Identify an audience and moment where the story will create clarity or connection.

WORKING ORGANIZER

Run the protocol.

Your responses save on this device. Use Print / Save PDF when you are ready to keep or share the artifact.

Your protocol can be complete here. Save or share the artifact and use it for the need in front of you.

REFLECTION PROMPTS
  • What part of the story am I tempted to polish?
  • Who else’s perspective belongs in the truth of this moment?
  • What commitment should listeners be able to observe afterward?
EQUITY GUARDRAILS
  • Do not share another person’s trauma or private experience without consent.
  • Avoid stories that position communities as deficits the leader overcame.
  • Vulnerability should be purposeful, bounded, and appropriate to the audience.