Leader Storyteller: Celebrating Kite CEO Christi Shaw’s FDA Approval of New Cell Therapy for Cancer
“In the particular is the universal.” —James Joyce
Leadership storytelling is the buzz we at Next Level Leadership have been “buzzing” about as a key strategy for women leaders for 30+ years. Why?
We Connect to Stories
● We remember: Stories are 22% more memorable than facts alone. (Memory champions turn random lists into visual stories.)
● We care: When we can taste, touch, and feel a narrative, we experience it. Studies have shown mirrored brain and heart patterns between those hearing the same story, even separated by time and distance.
Stories Define Us
And the storyteller is in control. It’s axiomatic that “history is written by the victors.” As diverse individuals own and share uniquely lived experience, the nuance of truth is revealed. When journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones first learned the relevance of the year 1619, she was in high school. That’s the year the first slave ship, the White Lion, arrived at the shores of the English colony of Virginia, a year prior to the Mayflower. An African- American teenager, Hannah-Jones had never learned of this date, of this ship, of her story. Her work today, The 1619 Project, is a retelling of the American narrative that places 1619 as its true origin. The explosive controversy that’s followed is evidence of the power of story.
Leader Storytellers
Movements are defined by leader storytellers. Their narratives are emblematic. They embody the core purpose. Barack Obama: hope for an America that lives up to its ideals. Greta Thunberg: optimism through the heartbreak of climate crisis. Malala Yousafzai: tenacity to fight for education.
You Have a Story
One that reveals your unique connection to your work—or your “why.” Through 10+ years of teaching leadership storytelling with NLL, I’ve learned that the question is not whether you have a story, but whether you’re willing to do the excavation to uncover it.
Why Tell It
A by-product of defining your leadership story is being seen for the work you do. Primarily, defining your leadership story resources you. The fulfillment of life’s work is a battle, one impossible to fight without, at times, losing the lead. External influences—approval, comparison, societal expectations—distort our once intrinsic motivation. If you’ve ever experienced a hard-earned win only to feel…. tired, you know this experience. Seeking reward—promotion, raise, award—amputated from meaning is the path to burnout. (Burnout is a trending topic because it’s happening.)
Celebrating NLL Alumna Leader Storyteller: Christi Shaw, CEO, Kite
Today, we celebrate a career win for NLL women’s leadership program alumna Christi Shaw. This October, she led the biotech to achieve FDA approval for a new cell therapy for adult patients with relapsed leukemia. She tells SurvivorNet, “[The approval] is very significant because these patients who have relapsed, on average, are given only about eight months to live.” This therapy offers new hope.
How She Does It
Christi’s story is intrinsic to her leadership, and she tells it wherever she goes. Having lost both her mother and her sister (after taking a year off of work to care for her) to cancer, her mission is to find a cure. At Kite, every employee knows exactly why they’re there. The homepage reads, “Kite is dedicated to achieving one of the most ambitious goals of 21st century medicine: curing cancer.”
Christi’s connection to her why is crystalline—and paradigm-shifting. Her care-first philosophy is changing the narrative from a fight against cancer to making scientific breakthroughs to work with the body's own immune system to cure cancer. Christi teaches us that stories can not only change minds, but save lives.
We’re proud to know and admire so many incredible leader storytellers through a 30+ year tenure in the field of advancing women leaders. Watch a sample of their stories here.
Become a Leader Storyteller
Whether you’re celebrating a win, facing a setback, or working through the day-to-day, the difference between being resourced or run-down can come down to your connection to your why. Defining your story connects you and others to the essential meaning of your work. With this, you cannot help but be a leader.
Learn more about leadership storytelling: contact us.