While we can explain our services, there’s no greater validation than hearing directly from a satisfied client about their experience and the benefits they gained. Enter Shruti Sharma, a Digital Communications Specialist at UNICEF*, who shares her remarkable journey of mastering leadership skills through storytelling. Our storytelling method transcends mere techniques, fostering enhanced confidence and a whole new skill set.
Learning to tell my story: Shruti’s testimonial
Working with Jerome set me on a new journey to develop my leadership skills. This was a phenomenal first step, and I hope to follow it up with more work on self-assessment, development and management as a leader.
Currently, I work as a specialist in consulting roles, and I’m looking to step into a managerial position. I began the year in my current consulting assignment with a deep interest in listening as I focused on the project. However, when the lockdown started in March 2020 and we switched to an entirely online work schedule, my ability to pay attention started slipping. Additionally, I also needed to start planning ahead and apply for key management roles once I finished my current assignment.
It was when I was thinking, or rather worrying, about all this that I came across Narativ and their book on Storytelling.
I explored their website and decided to set up an introductory call with Jerome. The first time I spoke to him, the calm and clear way in which he expressed himself made me realize that it was exactly what I was looking for. As we set off on the journey together, we decided that we were going to focus on telling my own story rather than the other option, which was to tell a work story that I need to repeatedly use with a wide range of audiences for the next two months. We figured that if I can learn to tell my story well, I can take the practice to that story plus the rest of my work.
I am a mid-30s professional who hasn’t changed the world yet, or so I thought. Jerome made me see things in an entirely different way. He helped me identify strengths where I didn’t think there were any; he made me flip words I had been using to undermine my strengths to those that helped me and my audience see what I have achieved and what I am capable of. So, even though in a recent interview the first question I was asked was not ‘tell us about yourself’ as the interview panel already knew me, I still felt I had a safety net of my story with me that helped me see that whether I get the job or not, I still have my story and I am a strong candidate regardless.
Following four story sessions with Jerome, I signed up for one of Narativ’s free workshops, where I got to see Jerome helping others tell their stories, and that coalesced all the lessons I learned previously quite nicely. I am now reading Narativ’s book slowly and leisurely, reinforcing all the ideas every now and then.
I think what I have gained from working with Jerome goes way beyond what I used for one interview or will use for other interviews. It’s a life skill and has given me the ability to spread my wings in leading my work and hopefully soon, others too.
– Shruti, Consulting Project Manager, UNICEF
*Note: At the time of this interview, Shruti was working as a consultant for UNICEF but has since been promoted to her current role.
