We rarely respond to reality itself. We respond to the stories our minds construct about reality.

Story Intelligence is the ability to recognise, question and consciously reshape those stories.

As AI produces ever more information, the scarce human skill becomes wise interpretation—not data.

Leaders don't just manage people or strategy. They shape the stories through which both are understood.

Every few decades, a new form of intelligence captures the public imagination. During much of the twentieth century, intelligence was largely equated with IQ. Then came emotional intelligence, reminding us that success depends not only on analytical reasoning, but also on understanding and influencing emotions. More recently, we have become interested in systems thinking, cultural intelligence, interoception and the special gifts of neurodivergent brains.

Another, so far overlooked, form of intelligence deserves a place alongside them: Story Intelligence*. Story intelligence is the ability to recognise, interpret, question and consciously shape the stories that govern our perceptions, emotions and behaviour.

Mistaking Stories for Truth

Most of us underestimate just how profoundly stories shape our lived experience. We tend to think of stories as things we encounter in novels, films or Netflix series. But the most powerful stories are rarely fictional. They are the narratives we continually construct about ourselves, other people and the world.

We rarely experience reality directly. Instead, we experience our interpretation of it. And our interpretations take the forms of stories; we select specific scenes and details and put them into a relation of cause and effect. Because of x, y happened. Because of y, z happened. And so on. Our wellbeing and sense of self are therefore not shaped by reality alone, but to a large extent by the stories we tell ourselves about our reality. These stories are often so familiar that they become invisible. We mistake them for facts or truths.

We may tell ourselves that we are not leadership material, that our bosses do not value us, that we are imposters about to be unmasked and fired, that people cannot be trusted, that we are........

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