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Transformational Story

Think back to a time when you heard about a transformational story that truly inspired you. Perhaps it was about a successful CEO who grew up in a life of poverty. Maybe it was about a woman who lost her entire family in a natural disaster, then started a charity organization in their honor. Or a man who won the lottery and used the money to create an innovative product that gave back to the community.

A transformational story consists of the retelling of a pivotal event in one's life and its effects upon the individual who experienced it. The person who recounts the story shares how he or she is now a different person as a result of having lived through a particular experience. Positive and negative experiences both can be transformational in nature and have a profound impact.

Transformational stories are useful to leaders because they accomplish two important things: First, they illustrate a point and are therefore instructive to colleagues and co-workers. Second, they personalize a leader's experience in the minds of others so that they see a different side of the leader. This can result in a greater personal affinity with the leader and a sense that he or she is genuine and effective.

The act of sharing a personal and transformational experience creates a bond between people, because there is a certain amount of personal risk and vulnerability associated with sharing something intimate. As you learned about the transformational stories of notable individuals in the Learning Resources, you probably were able to relate to them on a personal level. Perhaps you could even visualize yourself in a similar situation and imagine how you would react in those circumstances.

Thus, we gain as much from sharing our own stories as we do from listening and acknowledging the transformational aspects of others' stories.

In this unit, you will create and share your own transformational story. Review the transformational stories of Gandhi and Frankl, and consider which elements provide leadership lessons and contribute to learning and transformation.

To complete this Shared Activity, observe the following:

o Write your own transformational story (approximately 750 words). Your transformational experience can be about adversity, but it does not necessarily have to be a negative one. It should, however, be one that that not only impacted you emotionally, but also transformed how you view the world and the way you relate to others. Your story should consist of the following elements:

- Describe yourself before your transformation experience.

- Describe your transformational experience (make sure this is an experience you are comfortable sharing).

- Explain how you were changed and transformed as a result of this experience.

- Summarize the leadership lessons that you have learned as a result and how you can apply them in your personal and professional life.
- Explain how reading a full version of this transformational story would be valuable to others.

o Midway through the unit, post your transformational story to the Unit 3 ‘Transformational Stories' Discussion Forum for peer feedback.
o Use the Discussion Forum to provide feedback to your fellow students on their postings by asking clarifying questions, suggesting new ideas as well as alternative ways of expressing ideas and providing encouragement. Because there is no best way to write a transformational story, your feedback should focus on aspects such as written expression and the depth of thinking displayed about leadership lessons, connected when possible to leadership concepts from your readings.

o As you receive feedback from your colleagues, accept it in the spirit that it was given and consider how you might use it to improve your work.