The Visibility Strategy That Unlocked a $1M Gift: Personal Branding for Nonprofit Leaders with Bofta Yimam

What if the thing standing between your nonprofit and a million dollar gift wasn't your programming, your data or even your ask, but your story?

Emmy Award-winning journalist and StoryLede founder Bofta Yimam is here to talk about why stepping into visibility is no longer optional for nonprofit leaders. She shares a powerful example of a leader who landed international speaking gigs, doubled her organization’s revenue, and later received a $1M gift.

We break down how to use LinkedIn to reach donors and board members, how to turn your story into content that builds trust, and why visibility is a leadership responsibility. The real question is: are you willing to push past the discomfort and step into the visibility game?

Resources & Links

Connect with Bofta on LinkedIn and learn more about StoryLede on their website.

Bloomerang is the proud presenter of Missions to Movements. 

See how one team surpassed a $1M match and raised $2.25M for their mission with Penny, Bloomerang’s AI-powered fundraising strategist. Learn more at bloomerang.com.

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Transcript

The Hidden Fundraising Asset

SPEAKER_02 0:00

What if the thing standing between your nonprofit and a million-dollar gift wasn't your programming, your data, or even your ass, but your story? Now here's what many nonprofit leaders don't realize. The biggest fundraising asset isn't hiding in a pitch deck or in a grant proposal. It's sitting inside them, inside you, oftentimes undertold, underutilized, hidden behind this fear of being seen or forward or too bold. And today's guest has spent her career pulling stories out of exactly those moments. First as an Emmy and award-winning journalist and TV anchor, and then now as the founder of Storylad, a fractional communications marketing agency. Bda Yimam is the first Ethiopian American newscaster to receive an Emmy Award. She has spoken on stages all across the globe, has a phenomenal list of clientele, and more recently, she has turned her journalism instincts towards nonprofit founders and executives who are brilliant at the work, but need to be more visible. You might be one of them. Today's podcast is going to talk about a bunch of stories and tips, but Bofta was working with a nonprofit leader running an intensive STEM program who, by her own admission, was hiding. Zero visibility, a ton of impact, but no platform. And when BOFTA helped her excavate her story and stepped into strategic thought leadership, her content took off. She was landing podcast invitations. She was invited to international stages, and her organization grew two times over. And in Q4, she received a million-dollar gift. So today we are going deep into personal branding, not as vanity or self-promotion, but truly as leadership responsibility. So there is enormous room, even in this noisy world, for nonprofit leaders who are willing to show up with clarity and consistency in a story truly worth following.

SPEAKER_05 2:09

Please welcome both everyone has a unique differentiator. Every founder does, every executive director does. The problem is more so the fear and letting that succeed or thinking it's not that important. It's not about me. And I think that's the big thing. It's not about me, it's about the kids, or it's about the you know homeless elders that we serve. And I'm not saying that those things, of course, are not important. That's part of your mission. But when the founder steps up, everything changes.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Okay, so we're gonna jump right into it because I love this topic and I want this to feel like it's a live coaching call. Right from the source, coming right to the listener on thought leadership. And we're still relatively at the beginning of the year. I think this is a really important concept to bring back to the forefront of importance if it hasn't been for listeners. You've worked in journalism for a while, and then have also done a ton of work, obviously, now with personal branding, thought leadership, and specifically in working with nonprofits too. When did you start to realize or see in the nonprofit space nonprofit

From Invisible To Million-Dollar Gift

SPEAKER_02 3:30

leaders when they weren't really telling their own personal stories and why that's really such a missed opportunity?

SPEAKER_05 3:37

Right. Well, I think that's been going on forever, right? So as soon as you start to work with nonprofit clients, I think you quickly see, as with some private sector clients too, the hesitancy, the fear. But then there's this other thing, Dana, that also happens. And they start to feel like, why are these other nonprofits getting so much attention when we're doing something very similar or in our own unique way? And sometimes what happens, they'll say is, well, they target this audience, so that's why they're getting a lot of attention. Or their founder does this. But my point to them is, and what I will say, you know, to your audience who's listening right now, is everyone has a unique differentiator. Every founder does, every executive director does. The problem is more so the fear and letting that be seen, or thinking it's not that important, it's not about me. And I think that's the big thing. It's not about me, it's about the kids, or it's about the, you know, homeless shelters that we serve. And I'm not saying that those things, of course, are not important. That's part of your mission. But when the founder steps up, everything changes. You start to see dollars come from places you never thought dollars would come from. You start to get opportunities to speak or to have impact in a unique way that you never thought would come through your doors, and it happens at a faster pace. So, especially now when I know a lot of nonprofits are wondering where's my my next big fundraising dollar is going to come from, I think the missed opportunity is thinking that you can't help elevate that with your own story and your thought leadership as the founder. And that's something that your board is probably not going to tell you. Your board doesn't even maybe know it, right? But they're looking to you for leadership. And this is where you say, well, what if I step up and we focus on some branding around why I'm here? And look, you got to know you're gonna be there for a while. Otherwise, it's just disingenuous. It's you want to be there for a while, right? Let's put that out there right now, early in this conversation, Dana, right? So you're not planning to leave next year. I would say if you're really committed to this nonprofit, you have got to look at yourself and see yourself as part of the fundraising dollars generating for the organization because you are an extension of that.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

So good.

SPEAKER_05 5:56

I think that's just the truth. And I think anyone who's doing it had this realization maybe a year or two years ago. We had one client who went from zero visibility, and she will say it, like I had no visibility. She said I didn't focus on it, and everything changed for her once she started to get visible. And she started to get comfortable with it too. At first, it was really uncomfortable, as it will be for most. And then she started to see it took her about, I would say, nine to twelve months, but a million-dollar gift came through of somebody she had been kind of courting for a while. But everyone was watching her step out of her shell because she was self-proclaimed introvert. And so when this amount came into her inbox, she was like, What? How? What? You know, but she's been doing the work, Dana. She'd been doing the work, she'd been out there.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

Yeah. What was the shift that finally made in that specific instance made her say, Yes, I'm ready to do this? She knew she was playing small. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 6:53

One, she had founded the nonprofit herself, and she knew she was playing small. And she was fighting two parts of her, right? And it's like, you know, when you have like the shoulder cartoons were like, do this, don't do this. You know, so it was it was part of her, you know, that was fighting herself in a sense, because she was saying, you know, I know that I need to play bigger, but I'm an introvert and I really don't want to be seen. So what we agreed on were certain topics and conversations that she did not want to talk about.

unknown 7:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 7:21

So what are some things that are going to be off the table? And that's everyone, that's different. And you have a right to that. This is your story and this is your visibility, right? But the things that you are going to talk about, let's go in the paint hearts, you know? So let's go in the paint. Let's, you know, take it to basketball terminology. Let's go in the paint hearts, let's really go in

Fear Of Being Seen

SPEAKER_05 7:40

so that we we can shoot the shots that are going to matter, versus playing weak all across the whole floor and not sharing much of anything, and not thought leadership, not your backstory, all of which were super cool for her. She had a great story, but nobody knew about it. So they had no reason to really care. And so in her time, she was with us for about two years, and I'll say that she 2X her revenue. I know that in the time we were working together.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

Amazing.

SPEAKER_05 8:06

And then, you know, I think she had felt the shift inside of her because she had received that validation that, hey, I am important, that people want to know my story, that wow, a lot of my personal stories weaved in with thought leadership are what works on LinkedIn. And you know that too, Dana. You know, we can't just talk about expertise all the time. We've got to show a little bit here and there stuff that's on the table that we want to talk about about ourselves, you know, moments of vulnerability. And now you're seeing more people on LinkedIn do it, but they're using AI and it kind of shows, or they're not doing it in a way where it's, well, why am I reading this? Or are we just talking about ourselves a lot, right? Yeah. The same kinds of posts. So we do need variety in the content we're putting out there. But she certainly felt that shift of validation, I think, from her peers, her board, when they saw that this is actually helping our organization as a whole.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

How do you convince someone that's listening to take the first step that it is time to invest in telling your story, understanding how to tell your story, choosing the channels you want to share it on, inserting it into different emails that are going out to constituents, maybe being a potential speaker, maybe sitting on some panels. Like, how do you encourage that first initial step?

SPEAKER_05 9:26

Because my first thought, Dana, was like, I don't try to convince anybody. So I'm like, you gotta want this because it's too personal, right? But encourage, I definitely encourage them to think, to think differently. And the real question I ask themselves, look, everyone's uncomfortable, right? In some way or another. Maybe some people are uncomfortable with accounting, some people are uncomfortable with visibility, others are, you know, in business, it pulls you to be uncomfortable, right? In different ways. So what I ask them is your vision bigger than your discomfort? So it's your vision for yourself, because otherwise we'll always let it get in our way. So the vision for yourself, your nonprofit, whatever's driving you.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

That's good.

SPEAKER_05 10:06

Whatever it might be that's driving you. For some people, it is financial. That's the honest truth. And that's okay. We just have to be okay with it. Like that's the reason that is driving them. For other people, it's impact, right? Okay, is that vision bigger than the discomfort that you currently feel? Because the feelings, as we know, come and go. But that vision has to hold steady while you're going through like all of these different feelings. Because before, let's say that client got that huge gift, guess what? She went through a ton of discomfort, ton of discomfort, you know, and she was hesitant on so many things, but she started to embrace the discomfort. That will not happen. Her vision was huge, you know, for her company, her organization. So everyone on the who's listening should be thinking, like, what is my vision?

SPEAKER_02 10:50

What is my vision? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 10:51

Yeah, what is my vision? And am I willing to push past some of the discomfort I'm gonna feel in this visibility game? Because that's what it is. It's it's a game changer, but it's a game, right? You've got to be willing to enter the game. Are you willing to put yourself out there? And are you willing to stick with it when it gets hard, right? And I think that for different people, different levels of discomfort, but you've got to be self-aware enough to know that you really want this and that it's time for you. After you make that decision, then you can say to yourself, okay, do I have the skills, the bandwidth, the energy to do this myself, or do I need support? And what does that support look like? Do I have someone internally that can help? Do I want to outsource this piece because I have a comms team doing everything else? Because this is not the same as a comms team. I think sometimes people think, well, I'll just have my comms team handle it. Your comms team is busy with everything else the organization needs. So it's a lot to add on their plate and expect them to be an expert in the personal branding for you too. That's like a whole nother agenda that you've now added to their plate. So I think we have to be realistic with comms teams and what they can do, which is probably a great LinkedIn post that I should do. Because I think there's some, there's a lot of organizations who are like, just have the comms team handle that, you know, just throw it on their writers, just throw it on their plate. And they end up totally in overwhelm. If you ask them honestly, that's what they'll tell you. That's what they'll tell you. Yeah. Yeah, that's what they'll tell you. So, you know, I think that, but it starts to say, like, what does that support look like, right? And if you decide to stay internal, just know that like you may not get the exact results that you're looking for. But hey, you should try that first if you really feel like that's what your budget allows for right now. If you can do it yourself, that's awesome, but have realistic expectations for yourself because maybe you're not a writer or you don't like to go on camera and

Vision Bigger Than Discomfort

SPEAKER_05 12:40

you do need some coaching or encouragement. And so you have to be, again, self-aware. Well, where would I need support if I did bring in support? What does that look like for me? And am I comfortable with getting coached even? A lot of people are like, well, you know, not right now. And so they have to decide is that vision going to drive them? You know what I'm saying, Dana?

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Yeah. Can you paint some visuals or like real case studies about what stepping into that spotlight can look like in all different verticals for a nonprofit leader and how it's maybe like yielded growth, visibility of an organization? You already mentioned the organization that literally landed a million dollars. Because I think when we think of visibility, it's like it's must be on a stage. But like this is visibility. Being on a podcast. Being on a podcast. Yeah. What are like some different verticals that you start clients with? Right.

SPEAKER_05 13:36

I'll mention podcasting, but the first thing that we start with for most that we work with, it's LinkedIn because there's decision makers and board members on LinkedIn. So now if you are a nonprofit and this is where your target audience comes into play and you're targeting kids, you will have to have a presence, probably on IG or TikTok, right? But that aside, your personal branding, I would say still to stick with LinkedIn. It has, I think now a billion members. The amount that are consistently checking has gone up each year, consistently checking their LinkedIn. More and more people are seeing the value of LinkedIn. The other thing I'll say about it is there are other things that will come to you through the visibility piece. So let's say you're visible on LinkedIn and you're starting to get that traction going. You may gain more, not only financial support and donors, maybe, but you also might gain really high quality board members. You might find that hiring is easier for you because people are checking you out. The first thing that I do when somebody says anything to me, and they're like, I'm like, okay, let me add you on LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_03 14:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 14:43

And I get a quick synopsis of like who this person is, what they're about. I glance at their content and I get a good feeling of, okay, I believe who they are, right? It's that quick, very quick thing. So you have to build that authority and credibility somewhere. And I think LinkedIn is your best bet in this day and age, right? Could change in a year or two, but for right now, 2026 for sure. LinkedIn. Other pieces of visibility, since you mentioned these different verticals, of course, speaking engagements are very powerful. Landing in media, even magazines and articles can be very powerful. Podcasting, mainly, you know, I think a lot of people think, oh, I'll land a big gift from it. I'd say no. I think that's more likely that you're just gonna get more visibility through it and be able to expand your thought leadership ideas as we're doing right now on podcasting. So we also have a podcasting arm. Then you're there's your website. Is your website reflective of what you're also doing on LinkedIn? Like, you know, are you talking in the same language and same tone and branding? Are you completely separate? So all of those things come into play when we talk about the different verticals. Speaking engagements tend to come because you're showing up as a thought leader. I used to actually coach years ago, my first iteration of my business was helping thought leaders become speakers, you know, how to book your first like paid speaking engagement, right? And we would go into their story and those, and I said, you have to show up in content because that's the only way they're gonna find you and know you is through the content. So sometimes the best speakers, not to digress, but the best speakers are the I guess the highest paid speakers are not because they're so good, it's because they're great marketers, you know, and so the part of it is you have to understand that there is a content marketing piece to all of this, from podcasting to speaking to thought leadership. So if you're doing zero or bare minimum, let's say, Dana, right? Like bare minimum, you're gonna get bare minimum results. So this is just being okay with this is the result that I'm getting because I'm really not putting that much energy toward it, right? My newsletter is going out once every year. Well, okay, then that's what you're gonna get.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Then that's what you're gonna get, yeah. And I think too, I have a whole keynote on your story is worthy too, which is like so fitting for all of this. And I think sometimes what derails us, there's two things I always talk about is like imposter syndrome, or it's the urgency, where it's the results and ratio difference because we live so much in the immediate Amazon world where something's here instantly that if we're just starting from scratch, we might start posting on LinkedIn and it's gonna be like maybe quiet for a little while until you start to build up some audience. How do you work through the clients you work with, their expectations around the building phase until you start to see some traction?

SPEAKER_05 17:34

Well, the first thing I tell them is marketing is a long game. So if you're here for the short game, we're probably not your best fit, right? It is a long game, it's a consistency game, as you know, Dana. It's about quality content. And one of the things that we tell them is don't get too short-sighted on what the outcome should look like, right? Like that client that I mentioned, right? You she couldn't have predicted that kind of outcome based on her consistency showing up three times a week for two years. She couldn't have predicted that level of generosity of a Fortune 100 client coming into her fold, right? She couldn't have predicted that. But other things came to her too. She gained national attention for a different award, right? So other things, she landed an international speaking engagement. If she'd been rigid on like this is what it must look like, then I think she would have you really sold herself short. So part of what I tell them is just be open, be open to what can come in your inbox. When I first started in LinkedIn, this is probably back 2018, and I just started, you know, playing with it. And I thought this is really an awesome engine for visibility.

Where Visibility Actually Happens

SPEAKER_05 18:40

I landed a speaking engagement in London, right? I did not know that was going to come to me through LinkedIn, but I was showing up. I was talking about, like you said, the power of your story and those kinds of things. And so I think one of the things I encourage them is that it's a long game. This is about a consistency game, right? You don't see an athlete become an amazing athlete overnight. It's consistency. It's going to the court, it's going to the ice hockey ring, right? It's going all the time. And so we can't, we have to have the expectation, like you said, like it we expect everything so immediate right now, but there is some delayed gratification here. But what they will start to receive is validation that what they're doing is important. For example, your first post, if you have never really posted and you have like some engagement, you know, some people who've been following you, and your first post in six months might do really well. But then you should expect it to a little bit drop off a little, right? Because it's hard to keep up that first, like, hey, I'm here kind of post. You know, it's hard to keep that because now they're excited that you're there. But that's like saying it's a birthday party. Well, what happens after the birthday party? We've got a whole year until the next birthday. So you've got to, you know, remind them that you exist essentially, right? That you're showing up, that you're also commenting on their party, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:55

And everything you're saying is so true. I think I remember so I this year is nine years in business. And I'd have to look back about when I, yeah, when I finally took LinkedIn more seriously and was investing into it. And now growth just compounds so quickly every month. I'm like, where are these new hundreds of dollars coming from? Right. And it is the main source of where I'm finding podcast guests, of where I'm getting inquiries for the products I have for like so much comes from that channel because I have consistently been showing up there, even when it seems like I am talking to no one sometimes. Like there are times where there is gonna be no one commenting, but they're sure probably looking.

SPEAKER_05 20:49

Lots of lurkers on LinkedIn. Well, lots of lurkers. LinkedIn is a lurking platform, unlike IG, I think, you know, it's really a lurking platform. IG, everyone's like quick to comment and quick to say things. And I think LinkedIn is like, I'm just gonna watch and I'm paying attention, then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, you get a DM for your services or a DM for your product. And I think that's the power of showing up consistently, as is a newsletter. Newsletters are very effective too, of course, because you're talking to your own community and that you've built up. So, and one thing, you know, I think it's important to mention here it's a social platform. So you've got to engage. A couple good tips here. You really want to engage before you post, ideally. So 15 minutes before you post, you want to warm up kind of like the car engine, you know. So you want to warm it up. And that's going to help LinkedIn also understand who you want to target.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

This is also why you might want a team to help you do this. Right, right. Like, I have no time to be warming up any.

SPEAKER_05 21:44

Yeah. I know, I know. Well, and here's the thing, Dana. Here's a lot of people like, okay, you can't do it five days a week. I don't expect you to, but two days a week, I think most people could do it. If they could really focus their time and energy. Put it in the calendar, right? Put it in the calendar as we know. So if it's not on the calendar, it didn't happen. Right. So, but two days a week, if you could warm it up before you post and do a thoughtful post. And look, a thoughtful post, even with AI and this and that, might take you 25 minutes to really hand down because what photo are you going to use and that kind of thing. Now, I'm not saying every time, but a thoughtful post is a thoughtful post. And people recognize that now. Probably more than ever. And when you don't have time, you can do a quick, you know, I just did something last week where I was sometimes I contract out with NBC sometimes. Just did a quick post on that because that's what I had time for, right? I said, let me just put that out there real quick. So not everything has to be super deep and super thoughtful, but you do want to drop some gems sometime so you stay in authority, stay in thought leadership. People don't have to like look too far to see who are you and like what do you do and what are you about? You don't want to make them look too far, you know.

SPEAKER_02 22:48

What about? And I think this might be more specifically in in our sector, but around understanding that personal branding isn't ego driven. It's kind of like you were mentioning it before, it's about like the vision. How do you get somebody who might be so it's like it's not me, it's about this. Like that is an extension of the nonprofit organization and not really just about their growth, but the the tremendous opportunities that can happen for the organization because of their voice being exemplified.

SPEAKER_05 23:23

Yeah. Well, I think this is something we've learned with clients too. It's how you write it. You know, it's how you write it. So if I'm talking about myself and I'm the founder or the executive director of a nonprofit, and I'm talking about it always from I may start out with the I, like what you went through, but then somehow at some point you've got to shift it, maybe in the middle and transition to, and that's why the work we do at this is so powerful, or that's why I joined this, or that's what made me step into leadership back in 2020. And right, so somehow also making that transition so that it's very clear that you also are talking about the power of the organization. So I it's very much how you write it. And I think it can get pretty nuanced. Yeah. And I think it's okay sometimes to put something just about yourself. Okay. It's again, it's a social platform. Not every post all about me, me, me, me, but sometimes putting something out there that maybe is unrelated to the organization. It's okay, right? People are drawn to who you are. And I I think if we look at, let's take a step even away from nonprofits. If you just look at great entrepreneurs, yes.

Consistency And The Long Game

SPEAKER_05 24:30

Which, if you're founding a nonprofit, you're an entrepreneur. Sarah Blakely, for example, founder of Spanx, right? I fan New Year's and Sneaks. Yeah, right. Launching that new shoe idea, but she leveraged all the Spanx crowd who was basically following her, following her. And she talked about all kinds of things: hardships, resilience, vulnerability. She had, she showed her personality and like how quirky she is. And she did all of that and then launched this new idea. She had everyone's, you know, not everyone's, but a lot of people's attention. She had the market's attention. That's what the power of visibility can do, is wherever you go, you're bringing this energy and this following with your next idea.

SPEAKER_02 25:14

That's right.

SPEAKER_05 25:15

Right? That's right. And so I think that that's something that's often missed in the conversation is look, you may be the ED for 10 years. Well, great, you've built a following and now you're going somewhere else, and you're gonna have even more impact in that next organization because you brought this following who likes your approach, who likes how you think and your perspective. But if you're not sharing that, they have no idea.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

A trustworthy there with the individual.

SPEAKER_05 25:38

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 25:38

It's totally about trust. Trust, credibility. I would love to. I have some quick lightning round questions for you.

SPEAKER_05 25:46

But I want to say something first too. Yes. Before I do, this was top of mind. I think it's really important for everyone who's trying to play on LinkedIn and and go harder in 2026 that they they start adding people with a lot of intention of who they want to connect with. You know, create your list of 50 or 20 or however many you can, and create that list of your target, you know, who you really want to make sure that you are in relationship with in 2026. And begin with following them and encouraging them, and then send them a possibility of a virtual coffee, and you can say it in different ways in DM. After you've been following them, you see they've been following you, and there's it's not creepy, right? Let's be clear, but it is social. That's good. But I think there's that idea, Dana, sometimes that everything's gonna happen for me, even if I don't add people and if I marketing, you've got to add new eyeballs, otherwise you're gonna fatigue your audience. So you've got to add new eyeballs in addition to making sure that you encourage comments, thoughtful comments on their posts. Okay, now I'm ready for lightning round, but I wanted to put that out there because I think that's that's probably gonna answer one of the nuggets.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Okay. Okay. So that's great. Who's your list of 50 or 20? Love that. Okay. Lightning round. Number one, what is one storytelling habit that you have brought with you from your journalism work that you think nonprofit leaders should adopt?

SPEAKER_05 27:10

There's so many, but the first thing that I'll say that came to mind is leverage dates and timelines. So go into your email, think about dates that were important when you first signed on as ED. What was the date in the year? So you can start a post with saying, like on January 1st, 2018, I changed my life by saying yes to a job in Chicago that has fed 10,000 homeless people in the past month. I think that's timelines, dates, leverage them. Look in your phone. Phones are great for them, and I think we have a lot of access to dates and timelines. And I think there's something about it that's very detailed, and I love detail, journalism, detail, yes.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

Details, so good. What is one mistake leaders make when trying to sound too professional online? Using jargon.

unknown 27:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 27:59

Talk to me like you talk to your mama. That's right. That's what I want.

SPEAKER_02 28:02

Like a best friend, voice memos.

SPEAKER_05 28:04

Yes, that's right.

SPEAKER_02 28:06

One sentence every nonprofit leader should be able to say about their vision for the future.

SPEAKER_05 28:13

In December of 2026, we will be, we will do, we will have.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

Oh, good.

SPEAKER_05 28:21

Not one sentence, but three.

SPEAKER_02 28:23

And love. Love. Okay, amazing. And then lastly, this is not a lightning round, but to wrap us up before I ask you to share all the amazing details about where everyone can contact you. For someone who's hearing this and like, oh, this sounds so good, but I'm so overwhelmed already. How do I add just like one more thing? Maybe they're unsure where to start. What's one like high impact, actionable thing that they could take today, this week, to really

Practical LinkedIn Posting Rhythm

SPEAKER_02 28:50

begin this strategic visibility with some confidence?

SPEAKER_05 28:55

That's a great question. Well, the one actionable step that I would say that you could do is write down a list. You know, I like to do some things like this, the Saturday morning coffee. Like it doesn't feel like work, it just kind of feels like my brain unloading. So just if you have some quiet time, have some coffee or tea and sit at a table or your couch and write down transformational moments. So moments that transformed you. And don't think about what you're gonna write, don't think about how you're gonna write it. Just write down transformational moments. There's two things that will really come out of that activity. One is you're gonna realize with confidence how many things you've overcome. And it's gonna give you confidence to say, well, this is just one more thing that I need to do. One more thing I need to overcome is the visibility. So that's one, it's gonna give you that. And I mean go back to college, go back to wherever you need to go, but just think of transformation moments. You know, getting your first apartment in a new city, whatever it might be, right? It doesn't always have to be super deep. And then the other thing it's gonna do is it's gonna give you layers of your story. So it's gonna give you story layers, which is very powerful because you're humanizing yourself away from the job title and the career, and you're just thinking of this is me and this is part of my story and my journey. And then you can think about what's out of this list, what's one that I'd be willing to share next week? Very actionable, right? So transformational moments can be from so many different things. We lost our home to foreclosure when I was a teenager, so that's a transformational moment, right? So I had to go through that. Wasn't pretty, right? But it built me, it's made me who I am. Not a lot of things can totally knock me off my feet because I have some of those things in my background, experiences that now I can look back on and say, Well, I got through that, so I can get through this, you know. So I think everyone should just write down some of those transformational moments, and you'll realize that you have a story, that you have a really good story, right? You just need to share it.

SPEAKER_02 30:46

I love that. That's a fabulous rap. I think it also showcases I think we forget how much we've achieved. Oh, forget how much we've gone through because we so quickly move past right.

SPEAKER_05 31:02

We're like, we got to go, we got to go. Yeah, it's like we got to do this next thing. Answer the phone, answer the email. It's like on to the next. Yeah, on we don't even break for stuff now, you know. I always tell the clients, I'm like, you got a huge win. Like, pause for a second, let's just take this in, you know. And and look, I get coached myself, right? And I get coached to do that too, right? So, you know, I have blind spots as well, just like anyone else. But I've been coached so much, I feel like it's made me a better coach consultant because I've been coached for years on so many different things, and I know what it's like to invest, right? I know what it's like to pour into yourself, right? So I'm always reminding myself and clients like we've got to pause for this W, this win that we have, instead of racing to the next thing so quickly, Dana. So that's a good reminder to wrap, you know, to

Lightning Round Storytelling Rules

SPEAKER_05 31:50

wrap this up.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

Beautiful. Thank you so much for joining us. Such, such, such valuable insights today. Would you please share how everyone can learn about StoryLed, can learn about you, where I'm sure LinkedIn is where you Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_05 32:05

I was gonna say, like, you know, if you're driving, there's not that many Bofta's out there. So my name is Bofta Yimam, and I'm definitely on LinkedIn. I'm also the founder of Story Lead, which is spelled S-T-O-R-Y-L-E-D-E, like we spell it in journalism. So it's really focused on helping leaders of nonprofits and private sector organizations understand their story lead. And in news, we always would talk about what's our lead story of the day, right? And then you're writing that that lead. So it's really important, I think, for everyone to know what they're leading with, what story threads they're leading with, like I mentioned in that exercise just a moment ago. So you're welcome to go to our website, www.storelead.com, L-E-D-E spelled for lead. And of course, at LinkedIn. I think I don't like to give people more than two channels because our brains start to get fuzzy after that. So no one remembers anything after that. You can always LinkedIn, DM, and say, hey, I heard you on Datas Podcast. Let's have a conversation. And I might ask you a few questions, and then we're on the phone and we're talking like I'm talking right now. Yeah, boom. Fabulous. Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

Thank you.