Everyday Run State: Pro Edition

It’s January! Or maybe it’s still December. I’m writing this on December 29th and sending about thirty of those “Hope you had a great holiday” emails which I’m sure my clients deeply appreciate.

With the New Year just around the corner, there are probably lots of goals you are setting personally, as well as goals for your business in 2026.

So I want to add one more to your already growing and probably unattainable list -

You, or your business, should have a newsletter.

Why Storytelling Is Becoming a Real Business Skill

I recently came across research from ExecThread  which I found so interesting I have been quoting it at all my family Christmas parties (wow, imagine having me as your guest - thill a minute.)
The demand for storytellers in leadership and executive roles is rising fast. This isn’t about AI-generated content or automation. It’s about humans who can connect ideas, context, and experience into something meaningful.

Some highlights:

• The percentage of LinkedIn job listings in the U.S. that include the term “storyteller” doubled year-over-year, with more than 50,000 listings in marketing and 20,000+ in media and communications mentioning it.

• Executives are using the words storytelling and storyteller more frequently in earnings calls and investor days. 469 mentions in 2025 (through Dec 11), up from 359 in all of 2024 and 147 in 2023, according to FactSet.

This is so fascinating to me, and it makes so much sense. We all want leaders who can translate their vision into something that connects with us at an emotional level.

What This Has to Do With anyone in Tech

If you work in a complex businesses, you’re constantly translating:

• Technical work into business value

• Operational decisions into client-facing explanations

• Strategy into action for your team

A newsletter is one of the simplest ways to practice that translation skill.
It’s also a consistent ground to be able to find your voice, personality and style, whether it’s your personal one or your brand voice.

The Unexpected Benefit I Didn’t Anticipate

I take this newsletter and repost it as a newsletter on LinkedIn. We’re working smarter, not harder.
If you’re on both mailing lists - I’m sorry, and you need to be more selective with your inbox. Unsubscribe from one, and I promise I won’t take it personally.

Once I started posting this newsletter on LinkedIn, it took about 4 months, but then all of a sudden it started gaining traction. Who was reading it?

Current clients, asking to go deeper with my service offering. Former clients who had new projects they wanted me to take a look at. People who I guess I would call my peers, even though they are people I have followed for a while and am low key fangirling over and can’t even believe they know who I am. Industry connections with interesting opportunities.

Now that more people know what I’m doing, how I think, and what I’m looking for, my world has gotten much larger. My networking conversations are easier, since people are already familiar with me, and we get to skip the small talk and get right in the weeds (ideal.)

A Low-Pressure Challenge

If any of this is sparking some inspiration in you, then I urge you to try it out.

Start small, in a way that feels authentic to you and has a cadence you can keep up with.

• Monthly is more than enough

• Keep it short

• Send it to people you already know

• Make it easy to opt out

I found that keeping a theme (mine is process improvement) helped when I didn’t have any ideas. That being said, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Soon, you’ll have more ideas than you know what to do with, so I just keep a running list of inspiration in a notes app on my phone.

Storytelling is a muscle we can all build, and while I’m still working on finding my voice, the process has been rewarding.

If you do decide to start a newsletter - add me to the list! I’d love to read it.

All the best in 2026

- Monica