Leadership as a Chapter in a Bigger Story
Leaders shape chapters in the story of an organisation. How narrative, clarity, and alignment help teams grow and move toward meaningful goals.
Editor’s note: This essay sits within the Cultivated library on leadership, meaning, and alignment. Related pieces explore vision, narrative, and how leaders create conditions for growth.
Leadership as a Chapter in a Bigger Story
One way I help leaders create clarity is to frame their work as a chapter in a much bigger book — the story of the organisation.
Instead of treating tasks and work in isolation, ask a bigger question:
What do you want your chapter to say?
Why Storytelling Matters in Leadership
Stories move people.
Emotion creates motion.
In organisations, challenges and opportunities form the narrative arcs. How leaders frame and guide those arcs determines how people experience their work.
Leadership is not just execution.
It is narrative design.
The Story Arc of Work
Most meaningful stories share a structure.
Work is no different.
A team faces a challenge.
A leader emerges — without all the answers.
A group forms with complementary skills.
A plan takes shape.
Roles become clear.
Resistance appears.
Growth follows.
This is not cinema.
This is everyday organisational life.
Writing Your Chapter as a Leader
Every organisation is a book.
A startup writes early chapters full of discovery.
A century-old company carries layers of history and identity.
Your responsibility as a leader is to decide what this chapter becomes.
Is it stagnation?
Transformation?
A quiet consolidation?
A bold reinvention?
How to Lead Through Your Chapter
Strong chapters share common elements:
- A clearly named challenge
- A diverse, complementary team
- A simple plan that creates alignment
- Defined roles and responsibilities
- Acceptance that difficulty is part of the narrative
- Attention to growth, not just outcomes
The best leaders do not just solve problems.
They create journeys where people learn, belong, and evolve.
Why This Matters
When a chapter ends:
- People have grown in ability and confidence
- The organisation has moved closer to its future
- You have shaped a narrative others will continue
Leadership is storytelling in motion.
The chapters you write shape not just results, but lives.
So ask yourself:
What do you want your chapter to say?
This piece forms part of Cultivated’s wider body of work on how ideas become valuable, and how better work is built.
To explore further:
→ Library — a curated collection of long-form essays
→ Ideas — developing thoughts and shorter writing
→ Learn — practical guides and tools from across the work
→ Work with us — thoughtful partnership for teams and organisations
