All
Meetings
Storytelling
Leadership
Most check-ins drift into the same tired patterns and scripts: Light chatter: “What’s going on?” Project updates: “How’s project X?” A half-hearted attempt to help: “Anything you need help on?” A vague attempt to connect: “Is there anything else on your mind that we should talk about?” Rushed, pushed or cancelled meetings Check-ins fall into these predictable habits because both parties show up and wing them. Clarity is non-existent. People don’t have a clear sense of why they’re there, what they should get out of the meeting, and how best to use the time. How often do you walk into these meetings with no agenda or sense of purpose? This is a wasted opportunity.
Many of the people we coach are people leaders who are stressed about supporting their people in the midst of (massive) organizational change. Then pile on the fact that they’re often losing resources and being asked to do more with less. We hear comments like: I don’t know what to tell my team that will be helpful when I’m frustrated and overworked myself. Leadership just keeps asking for more. How do I keep them motivated? We don’t have any professional development money for them. These leaders think that they have to show up with the answer to everyone else’s problems. They want to be able to provide a solution that will give their teams clarity and direction. They know that’s what their people want. And yet, they’re often ignoring the most critical tool in their arsenal.
Last week, Kara coached Carl, a leader who was getting ready for a working group meeting. It was the group’s first opportunity to meet after their kickoff, and a critical moment to move the group from idea to action. Carl was concerned that people would be reluctant to contribute and then he’d be left alone to do the work without the crucial input from his stakeholders. What Carl needed was some space to get clear on the desired outcomes of his meeting, think through how he was going to run it, and make sure everyone was set up to contribute meaningfully. By the end of the session, Carl felt ready. You can’t prepare to the same degree for all your meetings. Sometimes all you can do is make sure you have a Zoom link attached to the calendar invite. But for high-stakes moments, the discussions that truly matter and require input from others, you need to go further and approach them strategically. That is one of the clearest ways you demonstrate leadership.
One of the most frustrating things Stephanie and Kara experience is facing a meeting on their calendar with a vague title and no agenda. Or (let’s be honest, it’s not much better) the laundry list of topics masquerading as an agenda. When looking at these meetings, Stephanie and Kara don’t know what’s expected of them, how to prepare, nor what the point of the meeting is at all. But… although we’re all victims of this workplace crime… we’re also the perpetrators. Just last week Kara titled a meeting “Storytelling Kickoff” that didn’t have an agenda. Stephanie created a calendar invite titled “Call with Lynette.” It too, had no agenda. We were both invited to a blank “Connect.” Stephanie even registered for a webinar months ahead of time, but when the day came, the calendar invitation title was “Webinar” with no description or agenda, so of course she didn’t attend.
Earlier this month, we talked about why data can be difficult to communicate . Data often lacks meaning, is hard to process, and rarely engages people emotionally. Fortunately, there’s a way to address all three challenges at once. Storytelling is one of the most effective ways to make your data more compelling. Here’s why.
Recently, a product manager came to Kara looking for coaching on her storytelling skills and presentation delivery. When Kara asked what was behind the need, the client shared that she often has high-stakes moments with leadership where she needs to secure critical resources, like headcount. These conversations have serious implications for her team and her product’s success. She knows her data inside and out. The decision she wants to recommend to her executives feels clear to her. She’s prepared… but when she walks into the meeting, her data doesn’t land, and her arguments fall flat. She knows this because leadership asks questions like: What does this number mean? How do you know? They aren’t seeing the context, the “so what,” or how her data fits into the bigger picture of the business.
Stephanie and Kara both learned early in our professional lives that follow-through matters. As students at Michigan Ross School of Business, it was drilled into us: after an interview, send a thoughtful thank-you note that references the conversation. It was presented as a way to stand out and be polite… a nice finishing touch to remember you by. But although a thank you is polite, it doesn’t build momentum.
Early in our Wolf & Heron days, Stephanie facilitated our Influential Storytelling workshop for a major new client. It was a high-stakes moment: 100+ people in the room, a huge win for us, and her first time delivering the workshop solo. She opened with a story she had polished, rehearsed, and delivered successfully many times before.
Carissa came to Stephanie frustrated. She had a 15-minute slot with her executive leadership team, and she wanted to understand why her user-research findings weren’t influencing leadership action. She had spent months gathering insights, synthesizing trends, and surfacing recommendations, yet every time she presented them, leaders nodded politely and moved on. There was no change or follow through.
We’ve all sat through meetings that looked good on paper but left us frustrated. Stephanie was recently invited to a meeting that included an agenda right in the calendar invite!
Meetings are the most expensive way organizations spend time together. When a meeting fails, few blame leadership or facilitation.
When it comes to navigating change, mid-level managers have it rough. They’re stuck between a rock (experiencing intense change) and a hard place (supporting their people through it).
Most organizations dont have a meeting problem so much as they have a thinking-about-meetings problem.
Breakouts during an SKO are supposed to be where the rubber meets the road where strategy becomes personal, where people actually talk, and where the event gets real.
Ah, the annual Sales Kick-Off (SKO) a high-energy, high-stakes event where the entire sales team gathers to be motivated, inspired, and equipped for the year ahead. Or, at least, that's the intention. Too often, SKOs devolve into an endless parade of slide decks, a blur of talking heads, and a slow descent into
A SKO investment should be justified by how well it achieves strategic organizational goals. Unfortunately, SKO goals are often so vague that its impossible to integrate them into the feedback mechanism.
People dont make decisions based on logic alone. They need to connect emotionally with your message and use logic to justify it later. Thats where storytelling comes in. A good story doesn't just inform; it makes people feel. And when they feel, they remember. More importantly, they act. Read on to unde
Navigating change is at the heart of many conversations that we have be it with a friend who's struggling, a client we're coaching, or a team we're supporting.
As speakers and speaker coaches, we spend a lot of time crafting talks both for ourselves and with our clients. It's an obvious exploration, therefore, for us to look into how we can leverage AI to craft these talks more quickly (and ideally, effectively). Recently, Stephanie started giving a talk entitled Story.
Executive coaching is a soft skill. Yes, there are some technical frameworks you can be trained on, but at the end of the day, a good executive coach is proficient in what are generally considered soft skills: conversations, intuition, active listening, appreciative inquiry, etc. Soft skills are those less tangible
Nine times out of ten, feedback conversations turn into difficult conversations because we build them up in our heads to be way bigger and more complicated than they really have to be.
Maybe its cutesy to say that time management is an evergreen challenge but its true. It ebbs and flows as our work lives and personal lives change.
Questions dont have to be either leading or random. You can ask questions thoughtfully, in a way that encourages open discussion, collaboration AND you can ask questions that move people to action.
Around this time of year, people are planning large-scale and high-stakes gatherings, and they want to make sure the time and money invested in these events are well spent.
Most check-ins drift into the same tired patterns and scripts: Light chatter: “What’s going on?” Project updates: “How’s project X?” A half-hearted attempt to help: “Anything you need help on?” A vague attempt to connect: “Is there anything else on your mind that we should talk about?” Rushed, pushed or cancelled meetings Check-ins fall into these predictable habits because both parties show up and wing them. Clarity is non-existent. People don’t have a clear sense of why they’re there, what they should get out of the meeting, and how best to use the time. How often do you walk into these meetings with no agenda or sense of purpose? This is a wasted opportunity.
Many of the people we coach are people leaders who are stressed about supporting their people in the midst of (massive) organizational change. Then pile on the fact that they’re often losing resources and being asked to do more with less. We hear comments like: I don’t know what to tell my team that will be helpful when I’m frustrated and overworked myself. Leadership just keeps asking for more. How do I keep them motivated? We don’t have any professional development money for them. These leaders think that they have to show up with the answer to everyone else’s problems. They want to be able to provide a solution that will give their teams clarity and direction. They know that’s what their people want. And yet, they’re often ignoring the most critical tool in their arsenal.
Last week, Kara coached Carl, a leader who was getting ready for a working group meeting. It was the group’s first opportunity to meet after their kickoff, and a critical moment to move the group from idea to action. Carl was concerned that people would be reluctant to contribute and then he’d be left alone to do the work without the crucial input from his stakeholders. What Carl needed was some space to get clear on the desired outcomes of his meeting, think through how he was going to run it, and make sure everyone was set up to contribute meaningfully. By the end of the session, Carl felt ready. You can’t prepare to the same degree for all your meetings. Sometimes all you can do is make sure you have a Zoom link attached to the calendar invite. But for high-stakes moments, the discussions that truly matter and require input from others, you need to go further and approach them strategically. That is one of the clearest ways you demonstrate leadership.
One of the most frustrating things Stephanie and Kara experience is facing a meeting on their calendar with a vague title and no agenda. Or (let’s be honest, it’s not much better) the laundry list of topics masquerading as an agenda. When looking at these meetings, Stephanie and Kara don’t know what’s expected of them, how to prepare, nor what the point of the meeting is at all. But… although we’re all victims of this workplace crime… we’re also the perpetrators. Just last week Kara titled a meeting “Storytelling Kickoff” that didn’t have an agenda. Stephanie created a calendar invite titled “Call with Lynette.” It too, had no agenda. We were both invited to a blank “Connect.” Stephanie even registered for a webinar months ahead of time, but when the day came, the calendar invitation title was “Webinar” with no description or agenda, so of course she didn’t attend.
Earlier this month, we talked about why data can be difficult to communicate . Data often lacks meaning, is hard to process, and rarely engages people emotionally. Fortunately, there’s a way to address all three challenges at once. Storytelling is one of the most effective ways to make your data more compelling. Here’s why.
Recently, a product manager came to Kara looking for coaching on her storytelling skills and presentation delivery. When Kara asked what was behind the need, the client shared that she often has high-stakes moments with leadership where she needs to secure critical resources, like headcount. These conversations have serious implications for her team and her product’s success. She knows her data inside and out. The decision she wants to recommend to her executives feels clear to her. She’s prepared… but when she walks into the meeting, her data doesn’t land, and her arguments fall flat. She knows this because leadership asks questions like: What does this number mean? How do you know? They aren’t seeing the context, the “so what,” or how her data fits into the bigger picture of the business.
Stephanie and Kara both learned early in our professional lives that follow-through matters. As students at Michigan Ross School of Business, it was drilled into us: after an interview, send a thoughtful thank-you note that references the conversation. It was presented as a way to stand out and be polite… a nice finishing touch to remember you by. But although a thank you is polite, it doesn’t build momentum.
Early in our Wolf & Heron days, Stephanie facilitated our Influential Storytelling workshop for a major new client. It was a high-stakes moment: 100+ people in the room, a huge win for us, and her first time delivering the workshop solo. She opened with a story she had polished, rehearsed, and delivered successfully many times before.
Carissa came to Stephanie frustrated. She had a 15-minute slot with her executive leadership team, and she wanted to understand why her user-research findings weren’t influencing leadership action. She had spent months gathering insights, synthesizing trends, and surfacing recommendations, yet every time she presented them, leaders nodded politely and moved on. There was no change or follow through.
We’ve all sat through meetings that looked good on paper but left us frustrated. Stephanie was recently invited to a meeting that included an agenda right in the calendar invite!
Meetings are the most expensive way organizations spend time together. When a meeting fails, few blame leadership or facilitation.
When it comes to navigating change, mid-level managers have it rough. They’re stuck between a rock (experiencing intense change) and a hard place (supporting their people through it).
Most organizations dont have a meeting problem so much as they have a thinking-about-meetings problem.
Breakouts during an SKO are supposed to be where the rubber meets the road where strategy becomes personal, where people actually talk, and where the event gets real.
Ah, the annual Sales Kick-Off (SKO) a high-energy, high-stakes event where the entire sales team gathers to be motivated, inspired, and equipped for the year ahead. Or, at least, that's the intention. Too often, SKOs devolve into an endless parade of slide decks, a blur of talking heads, and a slow descent into
A SKO investment should be justified by how well it achieves strategic organizational goals. Unfortunately, SKO goals are often so vague that its impossible to integrate them into the feedback mechanism.
People dont make decisions based on logic alone. They need to connect emotionally with your message and use logic to justify it later. Thats where storytelling comes in. A good story doesn't just inform; it makes people feel. And when they feel, they remember. More importantly, they act. Read on to unde
Navigating change is at the heart of many conversations that we have be it with a friend who's struggling, a client we're coaching, or a team we're supporting.
As speakers and speaker coaches, we spend a lot of time crafting talks both for ourselves and with our clients. It's an obvious exploration, therefore, for us to look into how we can leverage AI to craft these talks more quickly (and ideally, effectively). Recently, Stephanie started giving a talk entitled Story.
Executive coaching is a soft skill. Yes, there are some technical frameworks you can be trained on, but at the end of the day, a good executive coach is proficient in what are generally considered soft skills: conversations, intuition, active listening, appreciative inquiry, etc. Soft skills are those less tangible
Nine times out of ten, feedback conversations turn into difficult conversations because we build them up in our heads to be way bigger and more complicated than they really have to be.
Maybe its cutesy to say that time management is an evergreen challenge but its true. It ebbs and flows as our work lives and personal lives change.
Questions dont have to be either leading or random. You can ask questions thoughtfully, in a way that encourages open discussion, collaboration AND you can ask questions that move people to action.
Around this time of year, people are planning large-scale and high-stakes gatherings, and they want to make sure the time and money invested in these events are well spent.