I’ve been watching a lot of food documentaries lately–Chef’s Table is my favorite–and there’s much to learn about how to advance your career. Each episode centers on one chef and attempts to convey their life story. The best episodes have chef’s with a strong point of view and a deep awareness of the traumas and inspirations that led them to their genius. We take for granted that artists need to tell a story to prove the value of their work. Other professionals are led to believe that their effort and results should somehow speak for themselves. But in real life, that’s a recipe for being forgotten and left behind.
Even the most exceptional work of art doesn’t commands attention without a story. A work has value because we know who the artist was, what they experienced, what made this expression valuable, what distinguishes their effort, and why it should matter to us. Stories create the value of our work.
Everyone’s an Artist of their Own Work
The most successful artists smartly spend their careers developing compelling stories about their work. They develop their own perspective on what their art is, what dialogue it has with contemporary and historical trends, how it’s distinct, how it reveals new insights into complex ideas, and how the viewer feels or should feel as they engage with it. In reality, this is just as true for top chefs as for their employees or their lawyers. (Read here how the chef of El Bulli tells the story of his art.)
How Should Professionals Tell Their Stories?
Can your own work speak for itself? The short answer is no.
Going forward, you should consider 2 things to get good at. There’s the work you do and then there is the story you tell about it.
The story you craft gives context to your work, it guides the audience to understand the impact your work has. Without your voice sharing the story, who will do it?
An Example:
Consider submitting a proposal to a board of director or your boss. They receive it and ask: “What do these calculations mean for…(the client, budget, team, future)?” Your boss not only is asking for a story, but wants, even requires one. Your story might be: “Well, it’s likely that these changes in our costs will reduce our ability to expand in the third quarter and put our international ambitions on hold for three quarters.” There it is: we started here, we thought this was true, then this happened, and we are in a new reality. Characters, Action, Outcomes...and Drama.
The most successful professionals transform what might seem mundane into a story that conveys why their work matters. It’s not a throw away humble-brag. It’s a necessary element of completing your work. The story is the last piece of what you did. It’s not separate. It’s how you honor yourself and your contribution.
//HomeWRK
The next time you need to handoff your work to someone else (for approval, collaboration, or anything else), give yourself some time to craft a story.
- What’s the current state of things for our team/organization/product?
- Why did I do this work in the first place? What decisions was it connected to?
- Who else will need to know about the implications? Who might be surprised at what I discovered?
- How does it affect the person I’m going to send it to or speak with?
Give yourself 10min to capture some ideas. Then tell them a story.
***If you’d like some feedback on a story, share your first version on our LinkedIN Page and I’ll respond with tips to improve it.