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Embracing failure provides an opportunity for growth, and the language we use to tell our life stories shows how we define ourselves as leaders. — Leigh Thompson

Leigh Thompson - Life Stories and Leadership

SPARK: Life Stories and Leadership

Video: Leigh Thompson on language, embracing failure and leadership frameworks


As part of Executive Education's ongoing SPARK lecture series, Leigh Thompson, J. Jay Gerber Professor of Dispute Resolutions and Organizations, shared how our life stories inform our leadership frameworks.

Post-Traumatic Growth: Rising Like a Phoenix
  • Embracing failure as opportunity for growth increases our capacity to take risks after a setback. Being open to these experiences helps us write the script for our resurgence.


The Language of our Stories
  • The words we use to tell our stories provide insight into how we define ourselves as leaders. The emotion of those words, the areas we focus on and the ratio of positive to negative words show where we source our energy.