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π The Stories We Inherit
Last week I went to Alaska with my whole family (I know!!! Yes, it was a once-in-a-lifetime-incredible-experience!)
One of the most magical stops was in Glacier Bay, where you get these magnificent views of a glacier nestled between mountain ranges so beautiful they look fake. I felt like I'd walked into a picture book from a 4th grade geography lesson.
My mom and I were out on the viewing deck, binoculars up, scanning for animals, when we overheard a group next to us chatting about climate change.
One woman mentioned she'd been to Alaska about 15 years ago and remembered there being so much more ice. Then she said something that stayed with me for the rest of the trip: that the US is the only country actually doing anything about climate change, while places like India, China, and the Middle East simply don't care, and that's why all this ice is melting.
My jaw dropped because she spoke with such confidence about something that didn't align with what we know to be true about climate change. This wasn't just an opinion she'd formed while standing there; it was a story she'd likely heard enough times that it had become her understanding of the world.
As she continued talking, my mom and I kept scanning the water. Over the next two hours, we found only one piece of floating ice large enough to hold a seal and her pups. Our guide had explained that harbor seals depend on large pieces of glacial ice to give birth and raise their pups. Less ice β‘οΈ less nursery space, more competition, and ultimately, fewer pups surviving.
So while this woman and I stood just a few feet apart, looking at the same glacier and scanning the ice, we were making sense of it through two completely different narratives.
π Stepping Back
The glacier we were looking at isn't disappearing because of one unusually warm summer; scientists have documented accelerating ice loss across Alaska for decades, and the overwhelming consensus is that rising global temperatures caused by human activity are the primary driver.
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At the same time, US climate policy has shifted dramatically over the last decade. We've entered and withdrawn from the Paris Agreement multiple times, and this year alone, the EPA has moved to repeal the 2009 endangerment finding that established the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases, delayed methane rules for oil and gas operators, and rolled back or weakened several environmental regulations.
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Independent researchers have projected that these changes could contribute to higher emissions in the years ahead if they remain in place.
That being said, climate change is, by definition, a global problem. It's the accumulation of millions of decisions made by governments, industries, companies, and individuals over decades. No single country is solely responsible, and no single country will solve it alone, despite certain countries being larger contributors to the acceleration of it.
As the week went on, though, I found myself thinking more about the woman on the viewing deck: How had she come to believe what she believed with such strong conviction? Where do stories like this come from, and perhaps more importantly, why are they so powerful?
π§ Why This Is A Leadership Problem, Not Just A Climate One
Standing there in Glacier Bay, that woman and I were looking at two completely different stories about the same reality. She wasn't necessarily unintelligent, but she was repeating a narrative she'd likely heard enough times that it had become true in her mind.β
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That's how stories work: they don't have to be entirely accurate to become deeply believed, to become βfactβ to their audience. They simply have to be repeated consistently, confidently, and by people we trust in order to have profound impact.
Once I started looking at it through that lens, I realized the glacier had become an example of something I see everywhere: We inherit stories about our countries, our careers, our industries, our identities, and even ourselves.
β‘οΈ Governments tell stories about national identity.
β‘οΈ Companies tell stories about what success looks like.
β‘οΈ Families tell stories about who we should become.
β‘οΈ Workplaces tell stories about what leadership is supposed to look like.
Some of those stories are true, some are incomplete, and some deserve to be challenged.
The US, like many countries, has always been incredibly good at storytelling. Many of us grew up learning a version of America as the global leader in democracy, opportunity, and progress. Those narratives were reinforced in classrooms, media, and culture, becoming so familiar that we rarely stopped to ask where they came from or whether they still reflected reality.
What feels unique about our generation is that many of us grew up at the intersection of multiple narratives. Even though our '90s education upheld many old-school ideas, our immigrant parents' stories, the internet, the live-streaming of global events, and the speed at which information now travels gave us something no generation before us had: the ability to hold multiple perspectives at the same time.
Our source of truth is different: we have a direct line to historians, journalists, scientists, creators, and people living through events halfway around the world without waiting for those stories to be filtered through traditional gatekeepers like government and mainstream media.
Which raises what I think is the more interesting question: if we have greater access to information than any generation before us, what responsibility comes with that access?
For me, the answer isn't simply to consume more information; it's to become more discerning about the stories we accept as truth *AND* more intentional about the stories we choose to repeat. Every meaningful decision, whether it's made by a government, a company, a leader, or an individual, starts with a story that someone believes is true (OR wants others to believe to be true.)
I'll leave you with this:
What stories, political, professional, or personal, have you accepted simply because you've heard them repeated enough?β
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And perhaps more importantly:
What story are you ready to rewrite?
ποΈ Bring The Conversation To Your Team
If this essay sparked a conversation you'd love your team to have about the power of narrative, I'd love to facilitate it. My workshops help organizations explore communication, decision-making, and the narratives that shape how people lead, collaborate, and navigate change.
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π₯¨ Snacks
π Currently Reading: Is being a corporate leader a lot like being a sherpa? 100x Leader has me convinced the two have more in common than you might think.
πΏ Recently Watched: After tons of hype, I finally watched One Battle After Another, and I couldn't agree more with Brooke Obie's review, One Fetish After Another: PTA Exploits Black Women and Averts Revolution, (spoiler alert!). Instead, watch The Sheep Detectives for a good laugh, or Hamnet if you're in the mood for a good cry.
β Hosting This Month: I'm co-hosting a free Kismet Coffee Hour on July 30th for senior leaders. This month's conversation: How do you build trust when even leaders don't know what's coming next? Think peer office hours, not another LinkedIn pep talk. Join us ββ
π POV: What's the most underrated leadership skill?
See you in next week's mess,
Arshiya
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