Finding Inspiration Through Community: Create Your Ending of the Friday Fable
Doug Bellah
Empowering Voices, Shaping Futures: Enabling Transformative Conversations Through Storytelling and Engagement
Friday Fables: Leadership Tales from the Barnyard
“Tiny changes, remarkable results” ~ James Clear
“Progress over perfection” ~Unknown
“Just write, it will all start to flow” ~ Mike Zickar
“Shitty first draft” ~ Anne Lamott
“Consistency over intensity, quality over quantity” ~Compilation of various thought leaders
The inspiration for the Friday Fables – Leadership Tales from the Barnyard stemmed from my love of animals, a desire to build consistency in my writing with a self-imposed deadline, and an observation of the lessons we can learn from animal interactions that could be applied to leadership practices. Additionally, it serves as a practice for me to enhance my storytelling skills and share learnings through a relatable lens without specifically referencing individuals I've worked with throughout my career. While the animals and their interactions are genuine, I personify characteristics within the barnyard stories—stories drawn from my professional career, with names changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty ??. This week, I've felt a bit uninspired, though not for lack of effort by the animals. There have been moments where their curiosity has sparked my own.
For instance, on Monday—a bright, beautiful day with clear skies—a bit of wind made it challenging to find a location in the barnyard where wind wouldn't distract should I need to unmute my microphone and speak during a call. After settling near the third stall of our barn, Duncan and Shay, the donkeys, caught sight of me in my white resin chair. While focusing on the call, I noticed Duncan nosing the back of my laptop, nearly closing it, as Shay backed up to my lap, either to sit or get her butt scratched—both activities she thoroughly enjoys. Attempting to prevent the laptop from closing and exiting me from the meeting, I found myself simultaneously pushing a 350-pound donkey away while addressing Shay's needs in that moment which would have been money worthy had it been captured on video and shared on America's Funniest Home Videos.
What leadership tale lies within this story?
Additionally, we were surprised by the birth of a singleton Kune Kune piglet from our nine-year-old pig, Darla. Having had a small litter in late July of 2023 that was weaned in mid-October, it was unexpected, as pigs of her age typically stop having litters after seven or eight years coupled with the recency of her last litter. Our daughter and her friend came running from the barn, exclaiming, “There’s a baby pig! There’s a baby pig!” My wife and I promptly adjusted our project list to build accommodations for the Darla and her piglet.
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How could an analogy to leadership emerge from this tale?
Moreover, moments of tenderness from Darcy, our cow known for her intensity, toward her friends Seamus and Clifford, were observed (A bit of Darcy’s barnyard antics was shared in an earlier Friday Fable - "Avoiding the 'Darcy' Syndrome"). She was seen grooming them, allowing them to eat at the hay feeder, and lying with them in the field—behaviors uncharacteristic of her normal demeanor. Has Darcy turned a corner in her ability to build relationships with others? It is a question we are still deliberating on the farm.
What inspiration can be drawn from this observation regarding connection and leadership?
January 5, 2024, was the first posting of a Friday Fable with a goal of posting one every Friday throughout this year - a proud moment to know that I have made the goal year to date. It’s a tiny change in my habits to consistently put content on LinkedIn, keeping me focused on making progress despite the many shitty first drafts, and just writing to hone the skill. The vanity metrics of LinkedIn would tell me the ROI is negligible, yet I continue to write because each post is serving a purpose beyond the likes, reads, and interactions. I’m still figuring that purpose out and trust the purpose will emerge from the process. So I will keep noticing, writing, and posting with a hope to see how the tapestry being woven by each story turns out. As for this week, I’ll take a practice shared by David Hutchens , "A Story Without an Ending", in three stories shared above and let readers complete the Friday Fable through sharing their insights on what leadership lessons we can learn from observing animals.
I’m curious—what ending would you give to each of the stories creating the #FridayFable?
If you enjoy the Friday Fables, please share with your network. Through community sharing we grow in our collective knowledge.
Until next week's Friday Fable.
Be well,
~Dr. Doug
Empowering brands to reach their full potential
3 个月Doug, thanks for sharing! How are you?
Strategy | Transformation | Human-Centered Design | Project Management
11 个月Doug, I really enjoy your stories and admire your steadiness getting one of these posts out each week, so, I will take on your challenge. Perhaps there is a theme in here about where we focus our perspective, efforts and time. Donkey story lesson learned - Focusing on one task at a time may be a myth when trying to balance work and family (human or animal). Surprise a Piglet is born analogy - Workplace surprises happen all the time, and an agile mindset that prepares oneself and one's teams for multiple outcomes and unexpected circumstances, in other words, not being too attached to a single focus, is critical for success. A sheep's unexpected behavior - As people we tend to see an individual as the culmination of the experiences we have had with them or worse, by what we see on the outside. As leaders, we need to be careful not to focus on past experience and appearance only. The people in our midst are multi-dimensional. Creating artificial labels or seeing someone in a one dimensional way inhibits our own growth as well as theirs. Reactions anyone?
Creator of compassionate, thriving workplaces and advisor to purpose-driven leaders | Consultant and Coach | Fractional HR
11 个月Just as you understand the needs of each animal, leaders benefit from understanding the needs of their employees and it's different for each person. There is no one size fits all leadership approach whether in the workplace or when caring for animals. It takes time and effort to understand individuals, but the effort can produce incredible results. Thank you for another inspirational post, Doug Bellah!
Award-winning thought leader, author, scholar-practitioner and conversationalist probing the nature of Practice
11 个月The endings are conversations among the barn animals after you post. Alright, gang, who’s gonna do something cute, smart, or inspiring for next Friday’s story? Darla, above and beyond with the surprise piglet, girl.