How to Tell a Story

Leaders must disrupt the workplace, industry and environment and lead by example; but most importantly, they must be able to tell a story about why they can lead and how they can influence their business environment. Leadership in finance is based on knowledge, attitude and disposition to learn from peers, companies and clients. In this historic time, clients and the public are technically savvy, sophisticated and knowledgeable, CPAs, Enrolled Agents, accountants and financial advisors must not be left behind in their goal to create a climate that both benefits them and their clients but that serves a purpose for the public.

Nonprofit leaders are very good at telling a story; each organization that is based in the desire and goal to achieve a better future for society must be able to relate to all portions of the community where they function and to have a close understanding of why they exist. Nonprofits and for profit businesses must have different goals and they can help each other to succeed in many ways and areas of business. While a story may relate to the hardships that people experience on a day to day basis such as basic needs, other issues could relate to the economy, jobs or housing, and they all interrelate.

While working as a Direct Sales Representative at Comcast in Atlanta, Georgia, I learned to tell a story to my prospective customers. When we approach people, a connection is made and the time to reach that person is very short, but we can create rapport and elaborate a story that tells them who we are and why we can discuss topics that are similar to both and that connect us in one way or another. The trick about being a leader is to stand out due to our traits, our work and our perseverance. Financial and accounting professionals struggle with the challenge of competition, just like any other profession; the trick is to become unique in our own way, helping each other and addressing those issues which are important to our profession and our peers.

Disruption in business does not mean breaking the rules; it means disrupting the status quo, or the state of where things currently stand, at the Latin phrase goes, the key in making a difference is placing ourselves in someone else’s shoes and seeing their views and opinions from their side of the fence, even better, breaking down the fence and sharing, elaborating, brainstorming and collaborating in the creation of bigger, better and more sustainable opportunities for all.