Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership Leadership Storytelling
Practice the essentials of leadership storytelling.
Registration is open for Friday, May 16
Leadership Storytelling, styled as The Story You Tell, is a three-part leadership storytelling series designed to equip leaders with the essentials of storytelling that will inspire and influence others. Each event will explore the art and science of storytelling in connection to how leaders can use it to be more effective communicators that drive organizational success. The series will culminate in a storytelling event. To be eligible to perform, participants must attend at least one of the workshops in the series.
Listening as a Narrative Act
The Story You Tell
Stories are not just told—they are co-created through the act of listening. Grounded in the concept of “storycatching” and the practice of rhetorical listening, this session will equip participants with the tools to listen responsively, attending not only to words but also to tone, body language, silences, and the broader cultural and historical contexts that shape narratives. Participants will explore how listening rhetorically fosters deeper understanding, disrupts assumptions, and creates space for multiple perspectives. Additionally, they will learn strategies for ethically re-telling individual, team, and organizational stories in a way that preserves integrity, honors complexity, and amplifies the storyteller’s voice(s).
Schedule
Friday, May 16, 2025
Harper Center, Room 104
| 8:30 a.m. | Doors open; breakfast available |
| 9:00 a.m. | Program begins |
| Boxed lunch available | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Program concludes |
Parking
Street parking is available near Harper Center. Learn about
Workshop Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- Define rhetorical listening and storycatching, explaining their relevance in leadership and team dynamics.
- Demonstrate active and rhetorical listening skills to better engage colleagues, clients, and stakeholders by attending to tone, body language, silences, and contextual influences.
- Identify and challenge biases and assumptions that may distort understanding in workplace storytelling.
- Apply ethical storytelling strategies to effectively communicate individual, team, and organizational narratives.
- Reflect on their listening practices and develop actionable strategies to enhance collaboration and trust within professional and personal settings.
Samantha Coleman, PhD, is a dynamic leader, educator, and storycatcher with a 20+ year portfolio career. She is currently the Senior Associate Director of Leadership Development for the Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. There, she designs and facilitates innovative courses, fosters lifelong learning opportunities, and builds robust alumni communities. Additionally, she is a lecturer at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.
Coleman’s expertise also extends to academic leadership. During her time at Adler University, she played a pivotal role in creating and restructuring courses in Nonprofit Management, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and Organizational Leadership. She also developed the Global Campus’s first department to provide operational support and student experience services, in addition to developing robust student advising models. Her dedication to student success earned her recognition for maintaining an 85%+ retention rate in online learning programs.
As the founder of Do You…But Better!, LLC, Coleman provides leadership development consulting and executive coaching that emphasizes authenticity, personal mastery, and resilience in the face of life’s challenges. Her approach combines rigorous assessment and strategic feedback to guide leaders, teams, and organizations to reach their full potential. As such, she is a sought-after keynote speaker and master facilitator, known for her ability to create engaging and meaningful moments that inspire individuals to cultivate their inner H.E.R.O. (hope, efficacy, resilience, optimism).
A true changemaker, Coleman received numerous accolades during her time as a social entrepreneur (Assist Her, Inc), including recognition as an Unsung Hero by Ebony Magazine and Pine-Sol for her commitment to female youth empowerment. Coleman’s current legacy work is as co-founder of Black to the Beginning, LLC, where she uses her listening skills and storytelling expertise to amplify the Black Adoption Experience. Her work in this space is deeply personal and serves as a platform for healing and advocacy.
Coleman holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, an MA in Community Counseling from Concordia University, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her educational journey is complemented by certifications in a range of leadership assessments, including the Hogan Personality Inventory, Workplace Big 5, Benchmarks 360, DiSC, etc. She leverages these tools to offer personalized coaching experiences for professionals at all levels across industries such as: Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofit organizations, healthcare, financial services, technology, amongst others.
When she’s not empowering others, Coleman enjoys a good meal and a glass of wine, exploring new cultures, biking on the lake, collecting perfume bottles, and spending quality time with her two children.
We hope this series may help you do all or some of the following:
- Understand the principles, and importance, of leadership storytelling.
- Develop the ability to craft compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
- Learn techniques to engage and inspire listeners through storytelling.
- Apply storytelling strategies to foster trust, build connections, and motivate teams.
- Use storytelling as a tool for leading change and innovation.
- Deliver impactful messages with clarity and authenticity.
- Develop a personal leadership narrative that reflects values, vision, and purpose.
- Use a variety of approaches, including written and verbal, to tell leadership stories.
- Enhance storytelling abilities by incorporating elements of active listening, such as mirroring, paraphrasing, and asking clarifying questions.
- Evaluate the impact of your storytelling in a leadership context.