The Stories We Tell: The Work of Soul Hearted Leadership 

By Jordan Watson

The stories we tell ourselves have the power to create worlds within our hearts and shift how we move through the real world. Simple words sequenced into narrative are ripe with potential to move entire groups of people into passionate action. This truth is known throughout history, as key figures harnessed the unique power of language to cultivate lasting change or manifest unfathomable pain and suffering.

An unexamined story beating within the heart of a person in power is the most dangerous tale of our time. A leader’s heart stories, if rooted in woundedness and nurtured by fear, will consistently cast crushing shadows into the lives of those around them.  

This is the primary reason why I believe leadership requires a mind dedicated to the study of the stories that exist within one’s heart.   

When a person steps into any level of leadership, they are immediately confronted with a profound responsibility of diligently tending to the tales taking root within them. Some choose to see heart storytelling as the primary work of leadership, while others choose to blind themselves to the drivers of their actions. 

One must be willing to examine the heart from the seat of the soul. 

Vision starts with how well you see yourself. As you can imagine, the intentional blinding of one’s soul is understandable. Leaning into the stories beating within us requires the leader to examine the authors who penned the words they hear in their mind. It is easier to blindfold the soul and not confront these original wordsmiths.   

It takes great courage to cut through protective layers that help one make sense of the world and witness the who, what, and how the narrative was written in the first place. Only from the role of curious observer of the heart can a leader discover the ability to shift the motivations that drive them.   

Those who practice leadership in this way, I call Soul Hearted leaders.   

Soul Hearted leaders know the stories are never finished. The narratives unfold and are always being written, penned by the very practice of observing and examining the words. Through my own practice of examination, I’ve become humbly and profoundly aware of how I show up when I get it right and how I miss the marks that are important to me.   

I used the word “how” intentionally and not when or why. For me, it has been more impactful to understand how my heart works than why it works the way it does or when it moves me to show up poorly. If I know how my heart works, I am more aware of when it is moving me into old stories from which I do not want my actions to be rooted. This allows me to know more deliberately my “why” for showing up a certain way, “when” moments I face in leadership are difficult.  

To be clear, this is a constant state of work, practice, and willingness , as well as resilience to continually try.   

Our oldest stories tend to reach for control of the heart when emotions crest within us at overwhelming levels. These stories are often labeled “unhelpful,” and many work to eradicate them, but they never fully disappear despite all efforts, nor do I believe the work is to exterminate them from the heart.

Instead, in my experience, Soul Hearted leadership invites me to dive in and listen to those stories at deeper levels, so I can gain a new perspective of how these stories work in my heart and show up for me today.   

My learning has been the humble acceptance that one will always be in a state of becoming, which allows the visionary within the leader to emerge.  

I do not mean to say that these leaders can suddenly write the most profound corporate vision statements. Nor do they craft fancy words on a website that describe why their product or service is the best.   

Instead, the Soul Hearted leader’s vision builds within them and expands outward, cultivating a space in which certain people feel a sense of belonging. This rapidly expanding universe pulls those congruent with the story into an experience of shared meaning.   

This works like magnetism: The vision from within the Soul Hearted leader attracts the stories beating within the hearts of some people and repels incongruent narratives within others.   

The Soul Hearted way of leadership is how we try to show up each day at Alsana. 

We don’t always get it right, and in fact, that is exactly the work of becoming. My belief is that our way of leadership reaches out to people who are courageous and deeply curious enough to peer into their own hearts and discover a practice that will present them with the gift of true vision.  

A reflection for you:  

I want to invite each of you, no matter your job title, position, or day-to-day tasks, to lean into the difficult and rewarding work of Soul Hearted leadership by examining your heart from the seat of your soul. 

Visit our website to explore our renewed mission, vision, and values, and stay tuned as we continue telling this Soul Hearted story.