Shifting Your Story: Crafting Your Leadership Narrative
Where story structure meets leadership clarity
Welcome to StoryShift Collective. Here, we explore how the stories you carry can reshape the way you lead, contribute, and move forward in your career.
This session offers space to revisit the challenges you have faced, reframe what they reveal, and begin building a leadership presence that feels grounded, credible, and true to you.
It all starts with how you tell the story.
Programme Overview
Learn Narrative Techniques
Discover how story structures can help reframe career challenges into opportunities for growth and development.
Practice Storytelling
Develop your personal narrative through guided exercises and peer feedback sessions.
Build Leadership Presence
Apply narrative techniques to strengthen your authentic voice and executive presence.
Reflection Prompts
Each section includes journaling prompts to help you apply concepts to your unique situation.
Practical Exercises
Complete the embedded exercises to build your narrative toolkit and practice new techniques.
Resource Links
Access supplementary videos and readings to deepen your understanding.
📹 Watch Now: "The Science of Storytelling in Leadership" - A 5-minute introduction to how narrative rewires our brains and transforms our perception of challenges.
As we progress through this journey together, you'll develop a powerful narrative framework that transforms how you perceive and communicate about career obstacles, ultimately building your resilience and leadership capacity.

by Terence Priester

Naming the Obstacle: A Guided Journey
Before we can shift the story, we need to name what is in the way.
This session invites you to slow down and take an honest look at the challenges shaping your current chapter. Not in vague terms, but clearly, specifically, and in your own words.
Maybe it is the quiet erosion of confidence. Maybe it is the weight of unspoken expectations. Maybe it is the sense that your value is not being seen or voiced in the way it needs to be. Whatever it is, we will help you trace it back, give it shape, and start putting language around it.
Because once you can name what is holding you back, you can begin to move through it.
By the end of our time together, you will walk away with a clearer view of the patterns at play and a language that lets you speak about them with insight and precision. That clarity is what sets the groundwork for change. Not surface change, but strategic, meaningful motion toward the kind of leadership that fits who you actually are.
The Power of Leadership Storytelling
Effective leadership storytelling changes the way teams connect, learn, and grow. As you explore these principles, consider where they already show up in your work and how they might help you lead with greater clarity, trust, and impact.
Builds Connection
Stories create emotional bridges between you and your team. They foster trust and a sense of belonging by making you more relatable and human.
  • Sharing personal vulnerability shows your authenticity
  • Naming shared experiences helps build psychological safety
  • Emotional resonance strengthens the bonds that hold teams together
Reflection prompt
Think of a personal challenge you have overcome.

Write it down in a few lines, focusing on what you learned and how it might resonate with your team.

What part of your experience could offer insight, encouragement, or connection for someone else?
Makes Ideas Stick
Stories help your message land and stay. They are remembered longer than facts alone because they activate multiple parts of the brain at once.
  • Narrative structure gives your message a natural anchor
  • Sensory details make information easier to recall
  • Emotional engagement turns learning into something that lasts
Try this
Take a key metric or goal from your team or project.
Now turn it into a story.
  • Who are the characters involved?
  • What challenges did they face?
  • What turning point brought things forward?
See how the story shifts the way the message is received.
Shows Authentic Leadership
Sharing your story reveals what you stand for. It helps others understand your values, your guiding principles, and the lived experiences that shape the way you lead.
  • Origin stories shine a light on what matters most to you
  • Honest accounts of failure build credibility and trust
  • Vision stories invite others into a shared sense of purpose
Watch and learn
Explore how leaders like Brené Brown use storytelling to connect, disarm, and lead with impact.
Start with her TED Talk on vulnerability and notice how her stories carry both truth and invitation.
As you move through today’s session, begin shaping your own leadership stories using the SOAR framework we will explore next.
Keep in mind that powerful storytelling is not about performing. It is about honest connection and speaking with intention. When your story comes from that place, people listen.
The SOAR Framework
This storytelling framework gives you a clear structure to craft narratives that move people to action and strengthen team alignment.
Work through each step with care, and take time with the reflection prompts. Mastery comes not just from knowing the structure, but from using it to tell stories that feel true, purposeful, and alive.
Situation
Set the scene. Establish context for your story by describing the environment, stakeholders, and initial conditions. Apply the "5W1H" principle: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.
Reflection: What specific details will help your audience visualize and connect with your situation? Think about sensory elements and emotional tone.
Obstacle
Present the challenge. What needed to be overcome? Articulate the conflict, tension, or problem that created a meaningful struggle. The best stories contain elements of surprise or unexpected difficulty.
Reflection: What were the stakes? Why did this obstacle matter to you, your team, or your organization? Consider both practical and emotional impacts.
Action
Describe your response. Focus on your choices and leadership. Include decision points, approaches considered, resources leveraged, and how you mobilized others. This demonstrates your problem-solving process and values.
Reflection: What specific actions demonstrate your leadership principles? How did you adapt to changing circumstances?
Result
Share the outcome. What changed or improved? Include both tangible metrics and intangible benefits. Connect the results to broader organizational goals and personal growth.
Reflection: What lessons emerged from this experience? How might these insights benefit your audience?
Choose a recent leadership moment and apply the framework step by step.
Capture each part in your leadership journal so you can see how the story takes shape. Come ready to share what you discovered at our next session—your insights might just unlock something for someone else too.
Story Frameworks: Structuring Your Leadership Narrative
Effective leadership stories follow clear structures that help your message land and stay. These frameworks are not formulas—they are pathways that bring clarity, rhythm, and meaning to what you share.
Choose the one that best fits your experience and the message you want to leave behind.
Story Spine Framework
This Pixar-inspired framework creates emotional flow through a clear progression of events. It builds tension and resolution in a satisfying arc that listeners intuitively understand.
For an excellent demonstration of this framework, watch Pixar's masterclass on storytelling structure
  • Once upon a time... (Establish the setting, the characters, and yourself)
  • Every day... (Describe the routine or context)
  • Until one day... (Introduce the turning point or challenge)
  • Because of that... (Show the consequences and actions taken)
  • Because of that... (Show another consequence and action taken)
  • Until finally... (The climax and resolution)
  • Ever since then... (Share the new insight and lessons learned)
Workshop Activity
Draft the first line of each segment for a leadership challenge you have faced. Focus on clear, specific details—something your audience can see, hear, or feel.
Heroine's Journey Framework
Unlike the traditional Hero's Journey, this framework honors both the internal and external aspects of transformation. It's particularly effective for stories about growth through adversity and finding authentic leadership.
  • Pressure to conform (Describe expectations and constraints you faced)
  • Disconnection (Explain your moment of crisis or disillusionment)
  • Initiation (Detail your first steps toward a new approach)
  • Road of trials (Share the challenges of your new path)
  • Transformation (Highlight your key insight or breakthrough)
  • Reintegration (Explain how you brought your new knowledge back)
Reflection Exercise: Which parts of this journey resonate most with your experience? Note which elements feel most authentic to your leadership story.
Key Principle
Authenticity matters more than perfection.
People connect with what feels real. A moment of genuine vulnerability will land more powerfully than a polished story that hides the truth.
Let your story carry the marks of lived experience. That is what makes it resonate.
Crafting Your Leadership Story
Choose Your Moment
Select a time when you showed leadership. It does not need to be dramatic. Often, it is the quiet, behind-the-scenes moments that speak the loudest.
  • Think of a time you influenced someone in a meaningful way
  • Recall a moment when you helped someone move through a challenge
  • Look for experiences that reveal what you stand for and how you lead
Exercise
List 3 to 5 leadership moments from your own experience.
Circle the one that feels most honest and meaningful to you.
That is where your story begins.
Remember: Your leadership story should reveal both your capabilities and your humanity. The most compelling stories demonstrate vulnerability alongside strength.
Select Your Framework
Now that you have chosen your moment, decide which structure brings it to life more clearly.
Story Spine Framework
Use this framework if your experience has a clear sequence of events with a turning point and resolution.
Best for stories with a straightforward progression from challenge to outcome.
Heroine's Journey Framework
Use this framework if your story centres on inner growth, identity shifts, or returning stronger from challenge.
Ideal for narratives about personal transformation and authentic leadership.
Both are valid. Let the story choose the frame.
Exercise
Take the moment you circled earlier and map it against the elements of your chosen framework.
Where does it align easily? Where might you need to fill in more detail?
This is the beginning of a story others will remember.
Draft Your Narrative
Start with honesty, not polish. The goal is to get the story out before shaping it.
Freewrite
Begin with a 5-minute freewrite. Do not edit or second-guess—just write the story as you remember it.
Structure
Use your chosen framework to bring structure and rhythm to your leadership story.
Refine
Refine for clarity and conciseness, aiming for a version that can be spoken in 2 to 3 minutes.
Exercise
Complete your draft. Focus on capturing the emotional core of your story.
Let the structure support your message—but let your voice lead.
Practice Delivery
Your story's impact comes as much from delivery as content. Rehearse using these principles:
Record Your Story
Capture yourself telling your story to identify areas for improvement
Review for Impact
Analyze your recording for clarity and emotional connection
Seek Feedback
Practice with a trusted colleague who can offer constructive guidance
Delivering with Impact
Master these four essential elements to transform your presentation delivery and create memorable moments for your audience.
Voice Projection
Speak from your diaphragm, not your throat. Vary your tone, pitch, and volume to emphasize key points and maintain audience engagement.
Practice Exercise: Record yourself reading a paragraph aloud, then listen for monotone patterns. Try the same passage with deliberate tonal variation.
Expert Tip: Stand tall with shoulders back to open your airway and strengthen your vocal presence.
Intentional Pacing
Use strategic pauses to let important points resonate. Slow down for key moments and accelerate during transitional information. Rhythm creates impact.
Practice Exercise: Mark your script with pause indicators (/) and timing notes. Practice varying your speed while maintaining clarity.
Remember: Silence is a powerful tool when used deliberately - count to three during important pauses.
Physical Presence
Stand grounded with weight evenly distributed. Make deliberate gestures that reinforce your message rather than distract from it. Maintain open body language.
Practice Exercise: Record yourself presenting and analyze your movement patterns. Identify and eliminate nervous habits.
Pro Technique: Establish 3-5 "home base" positions on stage and move purposefully between them during transitions.
Authentic Connection
Share from the heart and speak your truth. Audiences respond to genuine emotion and personal investment in your message.
Practice Exercise: Before presenting, write down why your message matters to you personally. Reference this emotional anchor during delivery.
Connection Strategy: Make genuine eye contact with different sections of your audience, holding each gaze for 3-5 seconds.
These elements are designed to work together as a system. The real power comes when you begin to integrate all four—connection, clarity, authenticity, and structure—at once.
1
Build the habit.
Schedule a weekly practice session using the exercises above.
2
Track progress.
Keep a delivery journal to monitor each session's impact.
3
Reflect and grow.
Notice what resonates, what feels authentic, and how your voice strengthens.
Next Steps in Your StoryShift Journey
Practice Regularly
Strong storytelling comes from regular practice, not just reflection. Build a story bank with 5 to 7 personal or professional narratives that you can draw on with ease.
  • Set aside 20 to 30 minutes each week for focused practice
  • Use spaced repetition to build confidence and fluency over time
  • Record yourself and review using the feedback rubric provided
Try this: The 3-2-1 Method
  • 3 minutes telling your story out loud
  • 2 minutes refining for clarity and flow
  • 1 minute delivering with intention and presence
Writing Prompt
Track each of your practice sessions.
Note what felt stronger, what still needs work, and where your voice is beginning to shift.
Seek Feedback
Refining your story means inviting others into the process. Use the STAR+S method—Situation, Task, Action, Result, and Significance—to structure your story with purpose and emotional weight. Then, create feedback loops with trusted colleagues or peers.
  • Pay attention to how your audience responds to different moments
  • Notice which parts spark emotion, connection, or insight
  • Look for patterns across feedback to guide your next draft
Workbook Prompt
Design a simple feedback collection template to help you track responses.
Record what resonates, what confuses, and what stays with your listeners.
Over time, these insights will sharpen your instincts and elevate your delivery.
Integrate Into Leadership
Start using storytelling as a leadership tool in real time. A well-placed 2 to 3 minute story at the beginning of a meeting can set the tone, frame the agenda, and create shared focus.
  • Use the Hero’s Journey to reframe organisational challenges as meaningful arcs of growth and change
  • Map your team’s current obstacles to familiar narrative beats—call to action, resistance, turning point, return
  • Turn data presentations into something memorable by adding a story at the start and end that gives the numbers meaning
Writing Prompt
Plan your next three meetings.
Identify one story you can use to open each session, one insight to thread through the discussion, or one closing story that ties everything together.
Let story do what it does best—connect, clarify, and move people forward.
Coach Others
Leadership storytelling becomes even more powerful when you help others find their voice. Develop a peer coaching protocol grounded in the StoryShift methodology—one that invites clarity, connection, and courage.
  • Create a space where colleagues feel safe to explore, share, and revise their stories
  • Use the Story Extraction technique: a structured interview approach that draws out meaningful moments, values, and turning points
  • Help them name the story beneath the story—the one that reveals who they are and how they lead
Writing Prompt
After each coaching conversation, document what surfaced.
What helped the other person find clarity?
What surprised you?
Over time, these reflections will sharpen your own coaching style and deepen your storytelling instincts.
Remember
Your StoryShift journey is not linear. It is iterative, layered, and alive.
You will return to earlier steps often—revisiting old stories with new insight, refining your voice as your context shifts, and deepening your leadership presence through practice and reflection.
Each time you circle back, you bring more clarity, more resonance, and more truth to the story you are here to tell.
Next step?
Choose what feels right for where you are:
Have a grounded, no-pressure conversation about what you are working through
Ask a question, explore options, or start a conversation