Life Stories
People live their lives according to the stories they imagine themselves to be in. The more commonplace the story is, or the less relevant one’s role in it, the less relevant one’s life will be to oneself.
This is where the leader comes in. He puts people into a story that is far from commonplace and assigns them roles of critical relevance to the outcome of the story.
Quality of life comes from this kind of relevance. Being a key player in the organization’s worthy enterprise thus raises a participant’s quality of life.
Great leaders give their people a life or death, succeed or fail, win or lose stake in the pursuit of a great and worthy purpose. A leader who can offer his followers with a compelling answer to the question, “What is my life for” and the opportunity to experience it, will give meaning to people’s lives as well as gain the committed followers to the organization’s cause.
-Lee Thayer, Thought-Leader