The Story Maker
Insights from the Affection Economy:
where values are lived, not told.
Values-led leadership, cultural change, and human connection.
Welcome to The Story Maker — Jet Swain’s blog exploring how we live, lead, and belong through the lens of The Affection Economy.
Here you’ll find reflections, case studies, and practical strategies for leaders, teams, and communities ready to build trust, lead with kindness, and create meaningful change.
Week Twenty-seven — Wisdom (The Self)
Explore Week 27 of 365 Acts of Affection as we examine Wisdom through reflection, listening, curiosity and lifelong learning. Discover how wisdom strengthens leadership, relationships and personal growth.
Week Twenty-six — Reciprocity (The Heart)
Explore seven simple acts of reciprocity that strengthen trust, gratitude and connection through everyday kindness and shared generosity.
Week Twenty-five — Authenticity (The Self)
Discover how authenticity grows through honesty, values, self-respect, and acceptance. Explore Week 25 of the 365 Acts of Affection and learn why authenticity begins with alignment.
Week Twenty-four — Unity (The Sacred)
Week Twenty-four invites us to practise Unity through small acts of connection, inclusion, understanding, and shared purpose.
Across the week, the acts explored recognising common ground, welcoming new people into groups, seeking understanding across different perspectives, finding connection during disagreement, caring for what benefits others, creating together, and celebrating shared achievements.
This week reminds us that unity is not about everyone thinking the same way. It is about creating connection while honouring difference. Through listening, inclusion, cooperation, and shared effort, we strengthen the relationships, communities, and institutions that help people thrive.
Unity grows when people feel welcomed, heard, valued, and connected to something larger than themselves. It is built through everyday actions that transform strangers into neighbours, groups into communities, and individual effort into collective achievement.
By choosing connection over division and collaboration over isolation, we help create the conditions for belonging, trust, and meaningful human flourishing.
Week Twenty-three — Trust (The Heart)
Trust is built through small actions repeated over time. In Week 23 of 365 Acts of Affection, we explore seven practical ways to strengthen trust through honesty, accountability, consistency, dependability, and care.
Week Twenty-two — Sustainability (The Sacred)
Week 22 of 365 Acts of Affection explores Sustainability through care, stewardship, responsibility, and the small daily choices that shape our future.
Week Twenty-one — Intergenerational Responsibility (The Lineage)
Week 21 explored Intergenerational Responsibility through small acts of stewardship, sustainability, shared wisdom, and collective care — reminding us that legacy is built daily through the choices we make for future generations.
Week Twenty — Voice (The Flame)
Justice is built through everyday behaviour. Explore how fairness, accountability, courage, and inclusion shape healthier workplaces, communities, and leadership cultures.
Week Nineteen — Justice (The Roots)
Justice is built through everyday behaviour. Explore how fairness, accountability, courage, and inclusion shape healthier workplaces, communities, and leadership cultures.
Week Eighteen — Care (The Heart)
Week Eighteen of 365 Acts of Affection explores Care through everyday acts of patience, encouragement, emotional awareness, and presence.
Week Seventeen — Community (The Roots)
Week Seventeen of 365 Acts of Affection explores Community through everyday acts of inclusion, recognition, generosity, and presence.
Week Sixteen — Integrity (The Roots)
Integrity in leadership is built through consistent actions, not statements. Learn how small behaviours create trust, culture, and performance.
Week Fifteen — Transparency (The Flame)
Transparency is not a value alone — it’s a behaviour. This week explores how small, deliberate acts of openness build trust, reduce friction, and improve leadership outcomes.
Week Fourteen — Empathy (The Heart)
Empathy is a practice, not a personality trait. This week explores how small, deliberate acts — listening fully, considering context, and choosing curiosity — strengthen leadership, improve decisions, and build trust.
Week Thirteen — Clarity (The Self)
Clarity is created, not found. This week explores how small, deliberate acts of simplification — defining priorities, communicating clearly, and closing open loops — lead to better decisions, stronger leadership, and more focused work.
Week Twelve — Meaning (The Sacred)
Meaning isn’t something we find at the end. It’s something we notice along the way — in how we begin, what we pay attention to, and what we choose to hold as significant.
Week Eleven — Stewardship (The Lineage)
Agency in leadership begins with small decisions — speaking up, taking responsibility, and acting in alignment with your values. Week 10 of the 365 Acts of Affection explores how agency builds trust, credibility and cultural change.
Week Ten — Agency (The Flame)
Agency in leadership begins with small decisions — speaking up, taking responsibility, and acting in alignment with your values. Week 10 of the 365 Acts of Affection explores how agency builds trust, credibility and cultural change.
Week Nine — Stability (The Roots)
Stability is built through small, steady acts. Week Nine explores how order, consistency, and reliability quietly earn trust and confidence over time.
Week Eight — Compassion (The Heart)
Compassion is strength expressed through care. Week Eight explores how patience, grace, and staying open shape trust, culture, and connection.
