Leadership Development Through Storytelling
Lived expertise, recognized and equipped
Format
One-day introduction or multi-session cohort · 6–12 weeks
Built For
Community leaders, advocates, nonprofit staff, parent leaders, emerging leaders, coalition members, student and campus leaders, and employee resource group leaders
CHALLENGE
Communities hold deep lived expertise, but it rarely reaches the people making decisions. Organizations often ask for community leadership without first building the preparation, relationships, and genuine openings that would make that participation meaningful.
What We Do
-
Name and claim lived experience as expertise
-
Develop leadership narratives
-
Strengthen communication and advocacy skills
-
Build confidence as a public storyteller
-
Connect personal experience to systems change
-
Grow as community leaders and advocates
What Participants Leave With
-
Greater confidence in their own expertise
-
Stronger advocacy and public speaking skills
-
Leadership tools
-
Peer support and community connection
-
A compelling personal leadership story
How the Engagement Runs
01
Establish trust and psychological safety
02
Explore personal leadership journeys
03
Develop individual advocacy narratives
04
Facilitate peer coaching and feedback
05
Include time for reflection and guided movement
06
Refine stories for public engagement
Deliverables
-
Leadership narrative
-
Storytelling and advocacy toolkit
-
Facilitated peer coaching
-
Individual action plan
-
Leadership development resources
IN PRACTICE - FAMILY RESOURCE NAVIGATORS
Facilitated storytelling, fundraising, and leadership development training for roughly 30 staff members, many of them parents who had once sought services for their own children. Participants examined their experience as advocates, caregivers, and
leaders while building stories that connected personal journey to organizational impact.
Through peer coaching, guided movement, and feedback focused on their strengths, participants gained confidence in advocating for families. One participant, the mother of a child with cerebral palsy, turned her family's experience navigating disability services into an advocacy story that landed with her colleagues and made the case for early intervention and family support.