🏦 Start an Executive Story Bank with 24 Questions & Join Newsletter Club Today
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☎️ Hello. It’s Julia. Thank you for dialing into The Switchboard where I explore the ways we communicate and connect at work and beyond. I’m piloting scheduling this newsletter for an earlier arrival in your inbox. Do you prefer this time? Reply to let me know.
Today: February 28th is the next gathering of our newsletter club. Register as my guest to join the exclusive conversation on Work Hacks to Support Happiness and Success at 5pm PT / 8pm ET.
This edition is inspired by our first newsletter club gathering focused on Executive Communications. We grounded our conversation with the most popular post on The Switchboard — Learn to Write for an Executive — and took the discussion in exciting directions.
The opening ice-breaker helped us share more about ourselves and our interests:
If you could write for any executive, who would you write for and why?
As I bounced around break-out rooms, I listened to the responses which were inspiring and creative, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Beyonce! During our hour together, we shared learnings, sought feedback and built upon each other's ideas.
We talked about the power of personal stories influencing executive communications. Despite our best attempts at planning, more often than not, we might find ourselves a few days before a deadline for talking points, a newsletter intro or an organizational-wide email, and we don’t have the personal executive story to make it a meaningful communication. To solve this conundrum, I suggested this strategy:
An Executive Story Bank: Answers to personal and professional questions that make a leader unique and relatable. Examples can be drawn upon as needed at relevant moments.
🏦 Here are three ways to create this resource in-advance:
Leader Conversations: Ask the questions live to a leader with you and one or two other critical leaders present. Consider breaking the conversations into several sessions based on the categories below.
Homework: Send the questions home with a leader and have them record the answers so you can hear the stories in their voice. Schedule time to follow up and get clarity.
Retreat: Devote time for all of the leaders to develop their personal and professional stories away from a work day.
To get started, I’ve drafted 24 questions to ask your Executives. They are divided into four categories: growing up, early career, current role and life. You will likely modify this list based on your organization or leader. Consider this the beginning with more to come as you define your leader’s voice.
What questions would you add to this list? Contribute your ideas. 🌳 Growing Up
Where did you grow up and how did it influence who you are today?
What is a meaningful childhood memory?
Who is a person in your family or community that you looked up to as a kid?
Did you play an instrument, sport or influential activity (i.e. debate club, etc)?
What is your culture or heritage and how does it play a role in your life today?
Who is a teacher or coach who believed in you?
What was a pivotal moment or struggle you may have overcome that influenced who you are today?
🎓 Early-Career
What was your first job and a lesson you learned from it?
What inspired your career path?
Who was an early mentor in your career?
What is a powerful project you worked on that taught you something valuable?
What career advice do you wish you knew when you were younger?
🎤 Current Role
What makes you proud to be a leader here?
What should we know about how you structure your time at work — deep-thinking blocks, fewer meetings, management 1:1 approach, etc?
What is the type of culture you aspire to foster?
What do you appreciate about our culture and why?
How do you want to show up to support our employee resource groups and clubs?
💙 Life
What causes or nonprofits are you committed to personally and why?
What’s important for us to know about how you spend your time?
Do you have a hobby, if so what is it and why do you enjoy it?
What are a few books, podcasts, or newsletters you enjoy reading or listening to and why?
How do you care for your mental health and well-being?
What is a personal story of resilience that you’ve experienced?
What’s something that’s not on your resume, and you think others should know?
Here’s our Newsletter Club crew for our Exec Comms conversation:
Thank you to this lovely group for an engaging gathering. 
Looking ahead to March 13th’s Newsletter Club: Register for How to Transform Your Work Culture (read one: Hotdog Hospitality, Mistakes).
Thank you for being part of The Switchboard community. I’m grateful to you for reading, reacting and commenting. If you enjoyed what you read, please consider sharing it with a colleague or friend. Signing off for this edition. — Julia
PS - I’m considering narrating posts like this in the future so you could listen to it podcast-style while commuting, walking or tidying up. Would that interest you? Vote in the next 3 days to shape the future of The Switchboard’s content.