What S Your Leadership Story?

What’s Your Leadership Story?

“Tonight I am going try to make the case that inviting a loved one, a friend or even a stranger to record a meaningful interview with you just might turn out to be one of the most important moments in that person’s life and in yours.” Dave Isay

Do you believe in serendipity? The word was made up in 1754 by Horace Walpole, from the title of a story The Three Princes of Serendip who had the ability to make pleasant or interesting discoveries by accident (Source: Oxford School Dictionary of Word Origins). Serendipity is something that I have come to appreciate of late. It also led to this week’s eblast about story-telling. Stories allow you to go to places you might otherwise never have gone.

It just so happens that the Division is sponsoring a workshop this coming June at Congress in Halifax on Narrative Medicine. Trish Parsons, a Leadership Division member and the Chair of the Cardiorespiratory Division, and a graduate of Columbia University’s Narrative Medicine Program,will be leading the workshop. Narrative medicine is an approach to listening to a patientthat recognizes the value of their story. Narrative training helps those who treat patients to understand how medical practice can be structured around stories of illness that we all share.

And so it was that last Thursday I found myself sitting in the Wolf Performance Hall of London’s Central Library listening to the last in a series of presentations on Narrative Medicine titled, Stories of Illness and Health. Serendipity?

We listened to two individuals who told of their experiences with family members living with illness. Halfway through the first presentation audience members were wiping tears from their eyes. Someone began sobbing quietly. I came away that night more convinced than ever that what Trish will be presenting at Congress will be something many of you will want to be part of.

Today I opened my email and one of the messages was this week’s new TED talk (22minutes long) titledEveryone Around You Has a Story the World Needs to Hear. Serendipity? Dave Isay’s work with collecting stories is another example of one person with a simple idea who changes the way we think about the world and ourselves.

Do you know the stories of the people you work with?

This week why not sit down with someone you know and listen to their story or write down yours and send it to us. We’ll share it and maybe serendipity will happen and something unxpected will come of it.

“If this were to be our last conversation what would I want to ask of and say to this person who means so much to me?”Dave Isay

From the practice fields…

Joe Putos, PT

Chair, Leadership Division

Canadian Physiotherapy Association

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