What story are you creating about your team, clients, business?

I’ve lived in the same condo building for 6 1/2 years.

During that time I’ve made social friends along the way.  Holiday and summer parties; sometimes brunch.  Along with that, I’ve connected with a few on my personal Facebook page.

My profile picture is of me with a background picture of me and two boys on a camping trip.

Recently I learned that a whole story had been created about me and my personal life:

I have two young sons
I like camping

All by seeing one picture.  And this story was talked about throughout my condo building.  Everyone bought into it and made it a fact.

When in all reality, only one of those statements is true.

The picture of the boys are my nephews and was taken almost 8 years ago.  They are now 16 and 18. 

This is often how it goes in business. 

A potential client goes dark, they must’ve chosen another solution so we stop following up
A candidate is late to an interview - they’re unreliable
An employee dresses up when they normally are in jeans and a tee, they must be interviewing
An employee pushes back on a decision, they’re combative
An employee is crying after a meeting with their boss - they must have done something wrong

We see or hear something and before you know it, it becomes reality, or a fact.

The fact of the matter is i could create the story a gazillion different ways:

A potential client goes dark, they must be meeting with internal stakeholders so it’s taking longer than expected.
A candidate is late to an interview - they were in a car accident
An employee dresses up when they normally are in jeans and a tee, they have a date
An employee pushes back on a decision, they don’t understand the “why’s” and are looking out for the company
An employee is crying after a meeting with their boss - they just learned they got a long overdue promotion

As leaders, it’s our responsibility to look beyond the narrative.
To learn the facts
To stay open
Remove judgement

And stop the story from continuing. 

It’s also our responsibility to build our muscle in getting curious, we cannot move from a story being fictional to factual without it.

What story have you created?