Leadership lessons from life: It’s OK to be out of control, sometimes

Recently we facilitated a business storytelling workshop when Candice Lance, Communications and Events Officer shared this story.  Business storytelling that  had us on the edge of our seats, was funny and had a simple yet powerful message.  It also took only about a minute or so to tell and demonstrates how you can use personal experiences as the basis for your stories.  Ticks all our boxes for business storytelling.

The plane had just reached 12,000 feet – I was sitting on the edge of the open door. The time had come, it was my turn.  In just a split second my mind raced – what was I thinking, what did I have to do, what did they tell me, was the guy behind me having a good day, was this such a good idea?

Didn’t really matter what the answer was to any of those questions – I was out the door, no turning back. I was bending like a banana, holding on like I was told, remembering my training and plummeting towards the ground – I was tandem sky diving!  

What a rush. I was flying. I was free. As we continued to fall I remembered the videos of this moment as people landed safely on the ground crying and hugging their instructor I thought, ‘what saps I would never do that’.  Moments later my feet touched the ground I was jumping up and down,  hugging my instructor, crying – yes what a sap!  

I am not sure if I would go sky diving again, but I did learn a lesson or two. Sometimes it is OK to let go, some times it’s OK to be out of control. And it is definitely OK to trust your training and the people who are the trained experts.

You got to love it – personal experiences as the basis for your stories! Where else have you seen this done well?  Please comment below and share your experiences with us.  Thanks.