Effective Story Telling On and Off the Mat
Every professional has a hidden life. A passion of sorts that doesn’t quite fit into the neat bullet points of a resume.
For me, alongside my work in venture strategy and executive operations, that hidden life is as a yoga and strength instructor. For the past four years, it has been a profound source of joy and inspiration for me, yet it’s rarely a topic I discuss in professional settings.
As I delve into my 300-hour yoga teacher training, I’m realizing just how much my life on the mat informs my work in the office. This weekend’s focus on Sutras and Mythology drove home a powerful, undeniable professional lesson: Great leadership requires great storytelling.
My professional work requires the distillation of complexity into a clear vision with next steps and metrics to track progress. I aim to tell data driven stories that build trust, motivate, and empower action.
When teaching a complex yoga pose or sequence, I can’t just shout directions. I have to instead engage in layered communications or story telling, much like a strategic leader does.
In a yoga practice, mythology and sutras provide the origin story. It’s the philosophical “why” behind a challenging posture. In professional strategy, this translates to “vision”. A great leader doesn't just give an order. Instead, they provide a compelling narrative that validates the effort.
Eventually, teaching becomes an act of guiding students to ask better questions about their own body. To be curious, bold, exploratory, and open to listening. Professional leadership is about guiding teams to ask better questions about the business or the projects ahead of them. Instead of presenting a final, unchallengeable answer, I aim to present data and context that allows team members to find the most effective solution. My communication and leadership is collaborative, empowering, and creates resilient results.
I feel fortunate to have sharpened my focus on effective storytelling over these past four years as a yoga and movement instructor. It’s a reminder that the skills we cultivate in our seemingly unrelated passions often become the most potent tools we have in our professional toolkit.
For me, alongside my work in venture strategy and executive operations, that hidden life is as a yoga and strength instructor. For the past four years, it has been a profound source of joy and inspiration for me, yet it’s rarely a topic I discuss in professional settings.
As I delve into my 300-hour yoga teacher training, I’m realizing just how much my life on the mat informs my work in the office. This weekend’s focus on Sutras and Mythology drove home a powerful, undeniable professional lesson: Great leadership requires great storytelling.
My professional work requires the distillation of complexity into a clear vision with next steps and metrics to track progress. I aim to tell data driven stories that build trust, motivate, and empower action.
When teaching a complex yoga pose or sequence, I can’t just shout directions. I have to instead engage in layered communications or story telling, much like a strategic leader does.
In a yoga practice, mythology and sutras provide the origin story. It’s the philosophical “why” behind a challenging posture. In professional strategy, this translates to “vision”. A great leader doesn't just give an order. Instead, they provide a compelling narrative that validates the effort.
Eventually, teaching becomes an act of guiding students to ask better questions about their own body. To be curious, bold, exploratory, and open to listening. Professional leadership is about guiding teams to ask better questions about the business or the projects ahead of them. Instead of presenting a final, unchallengeable answer, I aim to present data and context that allows team members to find the most effective solution. My communication and leadership is collaborative, empowering, and creates resilient results.
I feel fortunate to have sharpened my focus on effective storytelling over these past four years as a yoga and movement instructor. It’s a reminder that the skills we cultivate in our seemingly unrelated passions often become the most potent tools we have in our professional toolkit.