From 'Tone It Down' to 'Turn It Up':
🎵 🎶 A Bard's Corporate Glow-Up 🎶 🎵
📊 PERFORMANCE REVIEW: MELODY STRINGWEAVER, CORPORATE BARD Reporting Manager: Sir Reginald Spreadsheet, VP of Mundane Operations Review Period: Q3-Q4, Year of the Digital Dragon
EMPLOYEE SELF-ASSESSMENT:
"I believe my unique bardic abilities bring exceptional value to cross-functional team dynamics and stakeholder engagement initiatives."
MANAGER FEEDBACK:
"Melody's tendency to break into song during quarterly business reviews, while... memorable... is not aligned with our corporate culture standards. Additionally, her habit of casting Charm Person during salary negotiations has been flagged by HR as 'ethically questionable.'"
🎯 DEVELOPMENT AREAS (MANAGER COMMENTS)
"Professional Communication" Melody needs to learn that not every email requires a rhyming couplet
"Meeting Facilitation" While her ability to inspire action is unmatched, we've received complaints about the mandolin accompaniment during standup
"Boundary Setting" Using Suggestion spells to "help" teammates meet deadlines crosses several ethical lines
🎵 EMPLOYEE RESPONSE (IN VERSE, NATURALLY)
You say my songs disrupt your flow,
But metrics clearly show
That teams perform their very best
When inspiration's put to test.
My bardic magic isn't wrong,
It just makes spreadsheets feel like song.
Perhaps the issue isn't me,
But corporate rigidity?
(Note from HR: This response was submitted as a 4-minute musical number during the review meeting)
🔄 PLOT TWIST: THE COACHING INTERVENTION
Three weeks after this review, I connected with Nick from @d20Coach. His insight changed everything:
"What if you're not supposed to dim your bardic light to fit their corporate box? What if you're supposed to help them build a bigger, more musical box?"
🎊 SIX MONTHS LATER: THE REMIX
NEW ROLE: Chief Culture & Engagement Officer
NEW METRICS:
Employee retention up 89%
"Best Place to Work" award (first time in company history)
Productivity increased 156% after implementing "Musical Mondays"
Zero turnover in teams using bardic motivation techniques
REGINALD'S NEW REVIEW COMMENT: "I stand corrected. Melody hasn't just transformed our culture; she's composed our success story. Requesting immediate promotion to C-suite."
THE MORAL OF THIS STORY:
Sometimes the problem isn't that you're "too much" for your workplace. Sometimes the problem is that your workplace is too small for your magic.
Don't shrink yourself to fit spaces that weren't designed for your gifts. Find spaces that celebrate them, or better yet, create them.
#BardLife #CorporateCulture #BeYourself #WorkplaceMagic #d20Coach #EmployeeEngagement #AuthenticLeadership
Melody Stringweaver
Chief Culture & Engagement Officer | Harmonious Enterprises
"Making work sing since the age of digital dragons"
Real talk: I'm Nick, and I've seen too many brilliant people get performance reviews that essentially say "stop being yourself." If you're a creative, innovative thinker getting feedback to "tone it down" instead of "channel it better," that's a coaching conversation worth having.
Ready to make your career sing? Schedule a free conversation at d20.coach.
