Season 5 Episode 4

What Is the Impact and Importance of Reframing Relationships?

April 13, 2023

Storytelling can connect, inform and inspire. Storytelling can increase confidence in recruiting, presenting, and motivating teams and organizations. Storytelling can humanize and personalize workplace cultures. At Story Lab, students develop executive-level presence and communication skills through storytelling workshops and events. Powered by the Sanger Leadership Center, Story Lab focuses on teaching participants the art and architecture of story development and delivery as a means toward positive influence and impact. In this episode, Sanger Program specialist Nick Viviano speaks with Story Lab participants John Regan and Josh T. Ferguson, who share stories about loss, connection, and the power of reconnecting with parents in new and unexpected ways.

Episode Transcript

Competencies

Building Relationships | Humility | Self-Awareness

Episode Resources

Reflection Questions:

How does the relationship you have with your family inform the relationships you have with others?
How can you redefine relationships in a way that serves you as a conduit of connection, comfort, and progress?
What story could you tell to people in your spheres of influence that could build trust, empathy, and understanding?

Nick Viviano

Program Specialist at the Sanger Leadership Center

Nick Viviano (he/him/his) is a program specialist at the Sanger Leadership Center at Michigan Ross. He oversees a variety of leadership development programs offered to Ross students and the wider U-M community, including the Leadership Crisis Challenge.

Josh T. Ferguson

Michigan Ross MBA

Josh T. Ferguson (he/him/his) is a Michigan Ross MBA and one of Sanger’s storytellers from the center’s popular Story Lab program. Originally from Houston, Texas, Josh is passionate about DEI and economic inclusion and plans to pursue these interests through consulting following graduation.

John Regan

Michigan Ross MBA

John Regan (he/him/his) is a Michigan Ross MBA and one of Sanger’s storytellers from the center’s popular Story Lab program. After graduating, he will be joining Capital One's Business Analytics group in their Chicago office.