From stories to skills: an experiential framework for leadership education

Purpose This paper highlights an often-overlooked pedagogical technique for leadership educators: using the life stories shared by invited leadership practitioners to engage undergraduate/graduate students with lessons that ultimately can strengthen student leadership efficacy. Design/methodology/approach Flipping the traditional paradigm, the course used a structured storytelling approach where guest leader narratives served as the primary textual content of the course, rather than as a supplement to more traditional textbook-based lectures. Supported by Howell et al.’s (2024) concise text, Snapshots of Great Leadership (3rd ed.), guest speakers' lived experiences formed a “living textbook.” Students then analyzed commonalities and differences across these diverse stories, linking speaker insights, course literature and personal experiences through reflective journal entries and a culminating Lessons in Leadership paper. Findings Students critically engaged with the “storytelling” approach as it offered a non-traditional lens through which to view real-world leadership lessons. Hearing stories directly from experienced leaders – whether in person or virtually – made the leadership lessons more powerful, relatable and applicable for the students. Originality/value The paper demonstrates that powerful, real world leadership lessons exist just outside our front doors and shows how a curated storytelling approach can transform them into a dynamic pedagogical resource for leadership education.