How Getting Robbed at Gunpoint Qualifies You for Leadership

The 3 pillars of narrative leadership

Photo by phil cruz on Unsplash

He unbolted the door

“Help, help!” were the cries the store manager heard from the other side of the alley door. Then came the pounding, and more cries for help.

The manager of the fast food restaurant was the only person onsite after closing time. He dropped his broom in alarm and ran to the bolted back door, but then froze with indecision. The franchise corporation had strict security policies in place, one of which was to never open the door after hours—no matter what.

But he couldn’t bear to let the distress calls go unanswered.

So he unbolted the door.

The next thing he knew he was being held at gunpoint, the cold barrel of a pistol pressed to his forehead while the robber demanded all the cash that was still on hand from the day’s transactions.

The manager escaped with his life, but his fate was sealed according to company policy. Zero tolerance was extended for employees who breached corporate rules that were designed to protect staff, customers, and company assets.

The regional directors meeting the next day where the incident was raised for team review produced a unanimous agreement—the manager should be fired.

Norman Brinker—the CEO of Brinker International, responsible for such casual dining successes as Macroni Grill, Chili’s, Jack in the Box, and more—happened to be sitting in on that Monday directors meeting.

As founder of the entire chain, he chimed in about the proposed firing.

“Well why do you want to do that?”

The team paused, caught off guard by Norman’s question in light of the clear policy.

“Well he broke the security protocol, so he’s gotta go . . . right?”

Brinker paused, and then asked, “What are the chances he’s ever gonna do that again?”

“None,” the team slowly agreed.

“So why are you firing him? What you want to do is make him the spokesperson in support of this policy within our company.”

The experienced leader saw an opportunity his team might have missed. To give someone who had just gained unique and notable life experience an opportunity to share their story for everyone’s benefit.

This is my memory of the story that was told to me more than a decade ago by John Miller, the CEO of Denny’s restaurants. John was one of the directors who was sitting in that meeting when his mentor, Norman Brinker, spoke up.

I was thinking today about the relationship between storytelling and leadership. The moment I paired the two concepts in my brain, John’s story sprang to mind. And you can see why.

Stories are magnificently adaptable and enduring. They occupy priority shelving in our memory, and leap into view when we need them. We are neurologically wired to think and recall information in the form of stories. Which is why the skill of storytelling is so important for anyone functioning as a leader. When you’re responsible for inspiring others to deliver exceptional results in the moments that count—you need superior methods of influencing their actions, even when you’re not standing right by their side.

Stories carry such influence.

John shared this tale with me during an interview I conducted with him while I was doing research for a book I was writing. Reviewing my notes, the conversation was littered with accounts of Miller’s first-hand experiences—stories that naturally made their way into our dialogue in support of each leadership concept and principle that he shared.

John Miller is an example of someone who possesses the rare skill of storyfluency—being fluent in the language of story.

His fluency made me feel like I was talking to a friend instead of the head of a multinational corporation. Norman Brinker, other business mentors, and his own father were consummate storytellers. He learned the language of story by spending time around those who spoke it.

The fact that I remember this story and my whole conversation with John ten years later is proof of the power of what I call narrative leadership.

Narrative leaders leverage three competencies.

The 3 pillars of narrative leadership

• Story Inventory

• Story Mapping

• Story Craft

Story Inventory is the time that leaders consciously invest in recalling and cataloging their notable life experiences. Some people just have a memory for this kind of recall. Most of us don’t. Which is why making a list of your stories, tagging and categorizing them for distinct purposes and audiences, is an act of leadership. Doing so prepares you to connect, inspire, or educate from a unique and authentic perspective with an audience of one or one thousand.

Story Mapping is the developed skill of turning your life experience into a metaphorical bridge that naturally illuminates a lesson, learning, revelation, or insight that is clearly relevant to your audience’s situation, goals, or interests.

Story Craft is the knowledge of how to structure the telling of a story so it immediately grabs the listener’s or reader’s attention and keeps them completely engaged through to its conclusion.

Story Inventory just takes time, some guidance, and the right tools.

Story Mapping and Story Craft take practice.

Getting robbed at gunpoint qualifies you for leadership because you’ve lived through something not everyone has experienced, and you can speak with authority about what it’s like to be in that situation.

Your life is full of less dramatic, and yet compellingly unique experiences that qualify you to help others better navigate their lives, their own challenges, opportunities, thoughts, fears, and rise to their best work.

Your willingness to learn the skill of sharing those stories makes you a leader.

Check Out Our Upcoming Sep Events

New Narrative Leadership sessions added!

I’ve been holding story sharing events for the last year, providing instruction, coaching and a welcoming, low-pressure environment for paid members to practice the craft of storytelling.

Starting next week, I’ll be adding a weekly Narrative Leadership session, which will help those who wish to influence with a natural authority by improving their:

• story inventory

• story mapping skills

• and story craft

Don’t forget, if you’re a paid subscriber, you have access to ALL of these sessions.

✍️ Club Memoir (Free subscribers)
A monthly gathering of members who are actively working on writing a memoir or plan to share progress, get feedback, and ask questions about the writing, publishing and marketing of a personal memoir.

🗣️ Story Sharing Days (Paid & occasionally free subscribers)
Practice sharing your life stories them with a small, kind group of members who love reflecting on their life experiences and listening to the stories of others.

🎙️ Pro Speaking Q & A (Paid subscribers)
Rick answers questions related to live presentations and professional speaking.

⛰️ NLT - Narrative Leadership Training
These sessions focus on developing the 3 pillars of narrative leadership—story inventory, story mapping, and story craft so that leaders can use the power of storytelling to influence with natural authority.

▶️ 52V (Founding Members only)
This group is focused on creating accountability and sharing best practices for recording a weekly video that you can upload as unlisted for the group to view, or make public on YouTube or a media channel of your choice. Get helpful feedback for learning to speak on video.

You can find all the upcoming sessions—some of which will be open to free subscribers—on the Events Calendar linked below, which is also always available from the main menu.

I’d love to see you there.

Warmly,

Rick