Description
Book SynopsisStories, ancient as life itself and deeply embedded within family and cultural traditions, transmit knowledge and shared meaning, linking people together in a human chain of history and memory. Leadership through Story offers a way for leaders and members (followers) to understand and experience the way a powerful story, when shared with others, serves as both a catalyst and vehicle to accomplish leadership. Leaders and members tell stories to achieve goals, experience compassion, manage change, solve problems, and/or promote social justice in democratic communities. To utilize stories to their fullest, leaders need to be aware of how the mutual exchange of stories and the meaning created from this exchange, promotes the changes we seek within and among us. Listening to diverse voices and locating turning points in dialogue_places where we are influenced and changed by others_inspires moral imagination and commitment, altering our lives together. In this way storytelling and dialogue serve as a foundation for personal and social transformation as well as cultural survivance in human communities.
Trade ReviewLeadership through Story: Diverse Voices in Dialogue offers a goldmine of genuine connections to leadership. Serving as an authentic and relevant resource for teaching about culturally sensitive and morally responsible leadership, the stories invite readers to identify and reveal their assumptions, values, and beliefs about leadership through the power of story. The stories in the book have renewed my passion for using story to teach leadership to future school leaders. It's a great read and I'm going to use it for my next class. -- Dr. William Berube, professor of educational leadership, University of Wyoming
Noonan uses the power of narrative to communicate meaning and value as well as to encourage dialogue....Noonan's work offers us a way to begin the important conversations about things that matter to us all and in so doing help us create true learning communities. -- Zach Kelehear, Dean of the College of Education and Vice President for Instruction and Innovation, Augusta University * School Administrator *
Once in a great while a book captures our attention and imagination in compelling fashion. Leadership through Story: Diverse Voices in Dialogue is such a book. By intermingling life-changing themes from the spiritual, professional, and relational dimensions of our lives, this study of story touches our very being. The authors, Sarah Noonan and her associate Thomas Fish, deepen and expand the concept of leadership by delving into the values and beliefs that underpin the daily decisions of those responsible for drawing members into fruitful community. Leadership is viewed from every perspective—the leaders themselves, the participants, and those with little voice who are incalculably affected by choices made for them. Numerous examples from a variety of cultures and situations enrich our understanding of the wide-ranging and distinctive lessons to be learned from diverse voices. Stories from the lowly and the powerful, the wise and the simple, tell of moral courage, integrity, and innovation as well as of foolish mistakes, self-betrayal, and devastating loss. In all cases, the therapeutic nature of story is brought home in this strikingly beautiful narrative that will hold a lesson for anyone who has ever aspired to leadership. -- Katarina Schuth, endowed chair for the Social Scientific Study of Religion, University of St. Thomas, Minnesota
Table of Contents1 Leadership Through Story: An Invitation to Dialogue 2 Story Elements: Metaphor, Meaning, Myth and Memory 3 Telling Stories, Changing Lives: Turning Points in Dialogue 4 Personal and Cultural Stories: Sources of Authenticity in Leadership 5 The Quest Narrative and the Call to Adventure: Defining Moments, Reflections, and Epiphanies 6 "I Am Another You": Leadership as a Moral Endeavor 7 Official Stories, Cover Stories, and Deceptions: Truth, Lies, and Everything in Between 8 Foolish Mistakes, Poor Decisions and Reckless Conduct: Avoiding Traps and Acts of Self-Betrayal 9 It's Never Too Late to Learn: The Importance of Learning in Leadership 10 Change as a Metaphor for Life: Transitions and Innovation 11 Wounds, Illness, Loss, and Suffering: The Therapeutic Nature of Story 12 Stories of Moral Courage: Seeing Injustice, Hearing the Call, Taking Action 13 Wolf and Wolf's Brother Speak: Listening to Diverse Voices 14 Cultural Identity and Survivance: The Power and Gift of Cultural Story
