Posts by Esther Choy
Astonishing But Hidden: Why Women’s Leadership Stories Matter Now
Many of the world’s most powerful women’s leadership stories have been forgotten by history. Take Zheng Yi Sao for example, the most successful pirate in history who at the height of her power had a confederation of 70,000 pirates under her command. Her incredible financial success and biography have been well documented. So why have…
Read MoreWhy Leadership Storytelling Is Actually So Powerful
When we are inundated with negative emotion and uncertainty, we often find ourselves reacting instinctively — fight, flight, freeze. None of these responses are ideal in the long-term. How can we counter these primal responses so that we can make more informed and nuanced decisions? Leadership storytelling. Storytelling is so powerful because it serves as…
Read More3 Easy Building Blocks To Write Your 2025 Leadership Story
A new year makes us aware of the passing of time. The implicit message in new year resolutions is that we are looking to become better versions of ourselves. But the truth of it is, we carry our old selves — our habits and history, desires and scripts, successes and failures — into the clean…
Read MoreLeadership Storytelling Is Powerful—But Not In The Way You Think
Leadership storytelling is powerful. It helps us make sense of events, create meaning, connect with people and build trust. But did you know that there are unproductive ways of telling stories? When conflicts arise, it’s natural and human to reach for these unproductive stories. In these stories, we are often the heroes and they do…
Read MoreRenew The ‘I Do’ Foundation Celebrates Marriages In Pittsburgh With New Keepsake Album
Pittsburgh, PA — To mark its 10th anniversary, Renew the ‘I do’ Foundation, co-founded and led by Arlene Milon, is celebrating Pittsburgh marriages with a stunning new keepsake album that honors local couples and highlights the enduring beauty of marriage. Guided by her training with Leadership Story Lab, Milon has infused storytelling in her work…
Read MoreTobias Leadership Center Partners with Leadership Story Lab for Transformative Storytelling Retreat
Indianapolis, IN – The Randall L. Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence at Indiana University is celebrating 20 years of training leaders from across sectors including education, government, nonprofit and for profit. This year, during the November Fellows’ retreat, the Center invited Leadership Story Lab to lead a business storytelling retreat to develop the Fellows’ leadership…
Read MoreNew Leadership Tool Brings the Power of Stories To The Workplace
It’s no secret that work teams that are able to connect interpersonally and build positive relationships are more productive, more creative, and more satisfied. But not everyone knows how to build those positive connections in the workplace, especially in the current period of divisive politics and hot button issues. Many people avoid sharing personal opinions…
Read MorePerspective: The Best Leaders Quickly Admit When They Don’t Get It
What do you do when you encounter a person who holds a fundamentally different perspective than you? Think climate-change denier aunt eating Thanksgiving dinner next to her climate activist niece. With so many polarizing issues, encountering disagreement in our homes and workplaces is not hard to imagine. Julia Minson, Ph.D., an expert in the psychology…
Read MoreDon’t Let Perfection Get In The Way Of Connection
In 2022, I got to lead a workshop for the Kellogg School of Management annual alumni reunion – a much anticipated event after two years of delay due to COVID. I arrived for the weekend prepared and excited to speak to a room full of people again, and they probably weren’t shocked to see me…
Read MoreCultivate Curiosity: A Simple Way To Navigate The Holidays
This month on Forbes.com, I shared about the necessary skill of leaning into our incomprehension when we encounter people and situations we don’t understand. I was inspired by the work of author Ann Morgan. She shares about the revelatory experience of learning to be comfortable with discomfort in her forthcoming book Relearning To Read: Adventures…
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