Quick reflections
- Writing characters reminded me how complex people are
- Everyone has a story we don’t see
- Making space for that is leadership
The second lesson I learned from writing a novel is: Empathy is not optional. The image is a rendition of Piney, an early fan favorite, who is deeply shaped by events never found in the story.
In the real world, we engage with all kinds of people. Writing a novel reminded me just how complex people really are.
To tell this story, I had to step into the minds of a wide range of characters. Each one needed to be consistent and fully formed across the arc of the books.
As a male author writing with a female protagonist, I felt a real responsibility to bring her fully to the page. It was an honor I had to earn every day.
To do justice to each character, I had to build their full backstories. Details that will probably never make it onto the page. But the truths they hold, especially the ones they aren’t ready to share, shape how they speak, act, and show up in the world.
That process made something click for me.
I’ve always tried to be a thoughtful leader, but this work deepened that instinct. Everyone has a story, and most of it lives quietly beneath the surface.
In all walks of life, I want to hold space for that. Not by asking people to open up, but by respecting that their untold story still matters.
“Seek to understand before being understood.” I’ve tried to live up to that throughout my career, but now it carries more importance to me.
As a business leader, I always tried to see and respect the person in front of me. Moving forward, I want to consistently honor the story behind them, even if it’s never spoken.
We’re all shaped by things no one else can see. Empathy, like story, only deepens when you make space to listen.
Tell me what you think. Or share a story of a time empathy shifted how you led or worked with someone.