SHOW NOTES:
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Historical Fiction Strengthens Perspective-Taking and Develops Cultural Intelligence
Learning how historical fiction strengthens perspective-taking and develops cultural intelligence begins with recognising that the coordination problems in your international team may not be coordination problems at all.
Andy had been leading distributed software development teams across three continents for years — metrics strong, systems sound, results consistently praised. He was reaching the problems. He wasn't reaching the people. This is the story of the night a novel showed him why — and changed how he understood every person he led.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
The Storytelling Newsletter (Free) Short, focused, and grounded in real WorkLife situations — how we communicate, lead, make decisions, and navigate challenges at work.
Story Lesson: How Historical Fiction Strengthens Perspective-Taking and Develops Cultural Intelligence Learn how stories that explore cultural inheritance and historical perspective can deepen cross-cultural intelligence and change how you understand the people you lead.
Guided Programme The Power of Fiction: Developing Character Traits Through Reading–Discover how literature strengthens empathy, perspective, and moral judgement — essential traits for thoughtful leadership.
This story was inspired by my book, WorkLife Book Club Volume One Shoreditch by Carmel O’ Reilly — following members of a London book club as they navigate WorkLife challenges through the wisdom found in the books they read together.
Commissioned learning resources, speaking engagements, and organisational partnerships: carmel@schoolofworklife.com
schoolofworklife.com
The stories I write are based on real WorkLife challenges, obstacles, failures and successes. Persons and companies portrayed in the stories are not based on real people or entities. Carmel O’ Reilly
