Diagram

In this step of the process, you will begin to analyze those stories you collected in the previous step. Start by reading each of your stories. During this step, you will submit two tables that represent the beginning stages of your analysis:

Table 2 As you read your stories, look for key insights into who you are and what you do when you are at your best that are described. Focus on your actions, contributions, attitudes, etc., rather than the context that the story occurred within (this will come later).

For each story, note 1) the positive behaviors, contributions, attitudes etc. that are evident in the story and 2) a general theme/personal declaration that you can conclude based on what you noted in #1. Compile this information in a table (see Sample Table 2).

Sample Table 2

Table 3 In Table 3, you will begin to aggregate your stories by identifying common themes and patterns that emerged across the stories. The purpose of this step is to aggregate and summarize your stories. This will help make the information more manageable. You should look for patterns and themes that emerge from considering the stories and analysis (i.e., Table 2) together.

· Patterns: Recurring behaviors, contributions, etc., across all of the stories and analysis

· Themes: Underlying truths about your values and beliefs and the essence of you at your best, inferred from the collection of stories and analysis

Display these patterns/themes in Table 3, which will provide you with an aggregated/summative look at your stories.

Sample Table 3

Frequently Asked Questions Q: How many themes/patterns should I have?  A: There is no magic number. However, you should keep in mind that these themes/patterns are meant to summarize your stories. If you have a lot of themes (I’d say more than 10), it’s difficult to work with and not as effective – this is why we want to boil down the stories to just a few themes to begin with. So, if you find that you’ve come up with a lot of themes, try to identify similarities among them (e.g., detail oriented, planner, and careful might all be grouped together under conscientiousness). If you have too few themes (1 or 2), they are likely too broad to be helpful.