Beyond the Bio

There’s more to your story than what fits on a résumé.

If you’re like most leaders I speak to, you’ve already done a lot in your life. You’ve figured things out, created things, navigated difficult moments, helped people, taken chances, experienced success learned from failure, and made decisions that changed the direction of your life.

And somewhere along the way, many of those things probably stopped feeling extraordinary. You accomplished them, moved forward, and started working on whatever came next.

This exercise is an opportunity to stop for a moment and look at all of it.

Before we spend time thinking about the leader you’re becoming, I want you to spend some time with the person who got you here.

I’m not referring simply to your title, your résumé, or the professional version of you that someone could find online. I want you to spend some time looking at the fuller story of who you are and go beyond your normal bio.

Here's my invitation for you

I’d like you to write a bio, but probably not the kind you’ve written before.

There’s no particular formula for this and no list of questions you need to answer. I simply want you to tell the story of who you are in whatever way feels most like you.

You might write about where you came from and what your childhood was like. You might talk about your family, your education, your career, the things you’ve built, the people you love, the challenges you’ve overcome, or the experiences that have shaped you.

You might write about the things you’re incredibly proud of, the things that frustrate you, what makes you laugh, what you love doing when you aren’t working, the weird or quirky parts of you, the dreams you still have, or something seemingly small that has had an enormous impact on your life.

Professional and personal. Serious and funny. Big and small.

It all belongs if it feels like part of the story of you.

I also want to challenge you.

Most of us have learned not to talk too much about ourselves, brag, or make ourselves sound too important.

Set some of that down for this exercise.

This is a place to own your greatness.

If you’ve done something extraordinary, tell us. If you worked your tail off for something, own it. If you’re proud of the parent, spouse, friend, leader, athlete, musician, volunteer, neighbor, businessperson, or human being you’ve become, that belongs too.

Fully own what’s yours to own.

If you’re not sure where to start.

Start anywhere.

A few places you might look:

• Where did you come from?
• What have you done?
• What have you overcome?
• What makes you proud?
• What matters most to you?
• What makes you you?
• What’s still ahead?

Start anywhere.

When you think you’re finished.

Come back and read what you wrote.

Not because I want you to make it sound prettier or more impressive. I want you to just take an honest look and check:

Ask yourself:

What am I leaving out?

Where did I make myself smaller?

What am I incredibly proud of that I almost didn’t include?

Is there a part of who I am that still isn’t represented here?

If something comes up, add it.

You don’t need to write your autobiography. Aim for somewhere around 500 to 750 words, but don’t get overly focused on the number.

Give yourself some time with this.

There’s a reason we’re doing it, and when we’re together in Louisville, we’ll take it from there (so make sure you bring it with you).

Don’t write the bio you think you’re supposed to write.

Write the one that’s actually yours.