The successful implementation of any corporate change process is one of the most difficult tasks of today's leaders and there is one certainty in today's corporate world - change is fast and constant. How any change is embraced relies heavily on how well a leader communicates the need for that change, the benefits of that change and the vision for the future. The best leaders are recognising that engaging their people through a medium of communication that is familiar to us is a highly effective way to win support. That medium is storytelling.
When we think of stories, many of us will reconnect with experiences of childhood either as children hearing stories from parents or grandparents or as adults reading our children stories at bedtime. We may think of stories as a place to escape to through books, film, television drama, theatre, opera or history. Just look at the success of the Harry Potter books. People naturally relate to stories. We grow up on them. Indigenous cultures exist because of them.
Storytellers
Storytellers have long been powerful and respected figures particularly in native cultures which did not yet have a written tradition. Storytellers in Native American culture, the playwrights and puppeteers of the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, the Chinese poets, the tellers of Dreamtime stories in Australia were all guardians of history, folklore and the accepted norms of society. They were the early knowledge managers and communicators of how things were done. Even the head of a group or tribe would consult the storytellers before making critical decisions.
Stories tell us what is acceptable in society, how to behave and how not to behave. They provide boundaries for cultural etiquette and provide rich role models to aspire to. At an emotional level, they encourage us to dream, inspire, shock and remind us of the paths we need to take. They remind us of our history, reconnect us with our roots and help us to understand how we belong. We relate to them. We remember them. Ultimately, they have emerged as a vehicle for powerful messages.
It has only been more recently that storytelling has been recognised as a tool for change and influence in the corporate world, linking logical and analytical elements with human emotions to engage people and push them to action.
When analysing the characteristics of ‘role model' leaders, we often identified a role model leader as one who has well-developed abilities to engage individuals in their vision and change journey, through formal and informal storytelling. A good story evokes empathy and emotion with the audience. The power of stories can connect us and improve relationships by delivering strong messages in a non-threatening manner.
What does a story do and why is it such a powerful tool in the corporate world?
Stories provide us with mental images that make information easier to understand. Stories draw us into scenes and create involvement. An engaging story with a learning message encourages the listener to imagine themselves in the story in the future.
Stories are also memorable. Many of us can recall stories from years ago or remember people because of their personal stories. You have probably thought of your favourite stories as you read this article. As a tool in the corporate environment, stories have impact because audiences will retain key messages for a longer time than if the information was delivered more formally.
As adults, we sometimes gossip with our family and friends and chat with our colleagues around the water cooler at work. If we think about the last corporate meeting we went to or the last time we met over lunch with a client, often we begin our interactions with stories of recent holidays or the family or how we had reached the meeting place. In this way, stories act as a conduit for building rapport, opening up the space for doing business. What successful leaders and change agents have learnt is that when you tell a personal story, the personal disclosure that is offered forges a strong degree of trust in a relationship. This personal disclosure or showing the human side of a leader, change agent or key stakeholder is what allows others to empathise or relate on a personal level to the key message.
Storytelling as a tool
How do we learn from the oldest tool of influence in history and recreate this in the workplace to communicate change, cultural values and plant inspiring associations in the minds of others?
A story is a narrative account of an event or events - true or fictional. The difference between giving an example and telling a story is the addition of emotional content and sensory details into the telling by using evocative and colourful language.
There are four critical elements to a story:
- Setting or the context in which the event unfolds. This provides the texture that surrounds the story and images in which an audience member can connect and position themselves into.
- Characters - these can be real or symbolic.
- Conflict - to capture an individual's interest, some tension or predicament needs to take shape within the body of the story.
- Resolution - whilst stories do not need to have ‘happy endings' or a satisfactory outcome, they need to hold the possibility for things to be different from what they are. This is where stories can be so valuable for the purposes of change management.
Ideally, at the end of the narrative, the story should spring the listener to a new level of understanding. To achieve this effect, the story is like a springboard which contains a change idea. In the organisational scenario, the story could simply provide an easy mental leap from the facts of the story to the various versions of the organisational life that the listeners are carrying in their heads.
A story which contains all of this could be a simple one-liner. Here is an example given by Stephen Denning in his book A Tale of Two Stories.
"In June 1995, a health care worker in Damana, Zambia, logged onto the CDC website in Atlanta....and got an instant answer to an urgent question on how to treat a new strain of malaria."
This was the springboard used to ignite and inspire a group of World Bank representatives who were skeptical about the value of knowledge management systems through Internet networks.
Case study
How storytelling has become a legitimate business communication instrument:
High-level executives within a global "top 5" accounting practice realised that important messages were losing impact or being diluted as they filtered down through the organisation. They identified the need for a communication tool for managers that enabled them to connect with staff on an emotional and intellectual level. The ability to retain the essence of the message through a number of different channels was also one their aims.
As part of a leadership initiative, 20 managers studied the art of storytelling. They explored the concept of storytelling and looked at how it could be applied to their corporate environment, with both internal and external clients. Each identified a message they needed to send and illustrated their points by presenting stories in the form of analogies, parables, anecdotes and real narratives around similar events they had experienced.
Following the study, internal clients commented that the potency of each presentation was significantly increased because the content was inspired by personal experience and memory. Audiences associated with the storyteller and shared common perspectives. What became clearer from this experience was that each message was more accessible, memorable and less threatening to the audience members. Audience members were more willing to share their own experiences and concerns and seek clarification. Change processes were taken up in a measurably quicker manner.
Storytelling has now been included as a desired leadership capability within the organisation.
Consider your own story. Think about what you have to offer in terms of your own experience. Begin by allowing yourself to play with recollections, open up a meeting space by having people reflect a key topic and share their experiences to date. Have someone tell you when they were surprised by their own resistance to a small piece of change and how they worked through it. You'll be surprised by the results, particularly in relation to the energy it brings. I remember when...
www.maurafay.com.au
Janet McCulloch, senior resource and design consultant
Maura Fay Workshops
