Blog

  • JFK and the myth of the heroic leader

    In “The Great Convener”, an opinion piece that appeared in the New York Times on June 27, columnist David Brooks analyzes the leadership style of US President Barack Obama.  While it is not my desire (nor my forte) to do political commentary, Brooks makes two interesting points that I would like to highlight and comment on. The first point is

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    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • JFK and the myth of the heroic leader

    In “The Great Convener”, an opinion piece that appeared in the New York Times on June 27, columnist David Brooks analyzes the leadership style of US President Barack Obama.  While it is not my desire (nor my forte) to do political commentary, Brooks makes two interesting points that I would like to highlight and comment on. The first point is

    Read more
    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • European identity

    The following “guest” post is from Eduardo, our MBA student, friend and supporter.  Here, he questions whether Europe can succeed without a common frame of reference, without stories of shared identity.  The question is an interesting one.  After all, as we have stated on numerous occasions on this blog, a community is a collection of individuals who share similar stories

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    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • On stories, meaning, and “losing the plot”

    As a student of personal stories, I have long been fascinated by the British expression that an individual has “lost the plot”, to signify that the person has gone insane, or that his life has come unravelled. Of course, if it is true that we define ourselves with our personal stories of identity, then the converse must be true as

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    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • Personal stories, identity and meaning…some diverse voices

    In the previous entry, I wrote that the telling of our personal stories is part of our quest for meaning.  In my research over the years, I have seen individuals from a wide variety of perspectives who have explored the connection between storytelling, identity, and the human being’s search for meaning.  So, I thought it might be nice to continue

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    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • Personal stories and meaning

    At the leadership seminars I gave in Ecuador at the end of June, participants were quite interested about how I came to understand the importance of “personal stories of identity” in a leader’s discourse.  Their questions were pointed and pertinent, concerning exactly how I defined stories of identity, and how effective leaders use them to teach and inspire their followers.

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    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling