Page 79 - Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton

LEADERSHIP SECRETS OF HILLARY CLINTON

are able to relate who they are today to specific experiences
and influences in their lives. They can tell stories about
both their opportunities and their challenges, their failures
and their successes, and their moments of great joy along
with their periods of great disappointment or sorrow. They
recognize the specific people whom they admired and who
greatly influenced them, and those who changed their
thoughts and opinions about the things in life that are
most important to them. They can laugh at themselves as
they look back on their incorrect assumptions or valiant
efforts that went awry. They can empathize with others
who are suffering as they look back to their own periods
of pain or loss. And they realize that without their story,
no matter what it was, they wouldn’t be the leaders they
are today.
But just as important, they are not afraid to share their
story with others. And as I listen to many of the stories told
by business leaders, I am reminded that authentic leaders
tell their story more in terms of what they have learned,
cared about, or stood for than in terms of the positions they
have held or the awards they have won. They use their
story to show that they understand or to make a point
rather than just to talk about themselves. They use it to
connect with others and to invite others into their lives.
Some stories are funny; some are sad. Some are long, and
some are short. All of your stories are part of your authen-
ticity, and each one differentiates you from everyone else.

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