Bob Selden

As I read this book, it put me in mind of so many stories I’ve heard and experienced in my own management career. In short, I was hooked with the stories penned by Paul Smith, which led me to think about my own stories. It also started me thinking about how I could use more stories in my own work. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. In “Lead With a Story”, Smith sets out with the aim of having the reader “start crafting, collecting, and telling stories today”. All the stories are about particular aspects of leadership and how stories can assist the manager navigate successfully through various leadership challenges. The stories are grouped into five areas of leadership – Envision Success, Create an Environment for Winning, Energize the Team, Educate People and Empower Others – the five “Es”. I’m not sure that this structure is useful, but some readers may find this a convenient way to go quickly to their category of interest. I personally think it’s a bit of a stretch trying to massage subjects into a catchy structure. However, that does not take away from the richness and usefulness of the book. Each chapter is almost completely taken up with two, three or more stories to illustrate the author’s point which is put simply and succinctly. Smith models what he is asking us to do by letting the stories do the talking. Very impressive. Chapters also conclude with “Summaries and Exercises”. I found these useful as a chapter summary, yet light-on as either self or team exercises. If there is one aspect where this book could be improved, this would be it. As you would expect, there’s also a chapter on how to craft your own stories and numerous suggestions throughout on how to use or adapt the stories presented in the book. At the time of reviewing this book, I had a colleague ask me for some advice about a particularly challenging session he was about to facilitate on work pressures and burnout, with a somewhat sceptical audience. Smith’s points about stories and how they bring people into your way of thinking immediately sprung to mind. I challenged my colleague to find a story he could relate. My colleague went away and thought about his session. He came back with a brilliant story about how a pilot on an international flight had recently saved a near disaster when a door blew out in mid-flight. The pilot went on to talk about the way this event had affected him at the time and subsequently. My colleague’s session went really well as the participants discussed the pilot’s experience and how similar it was to their own situation. Hooked! I think this book should be essential reading for every manager. Apart from the impact the book will have on the way managers communicate, as Smith points out in the introduction “Some (stories) will make you laugh, some might make you cry (I did!), most will make you think. More important, I hope this book makes you do something”. Me too! 5/5