Tell Me a Story
February 2nd, 2009 by Dave DuscheneA few weeks back, a client grudgingly agreed to include a presentation on storytelling at his company’s senior leadership team meeting. Since the bulk of the meeting was about building a culture, I argued, my client should ask his leaders to share stories with one another about what bonds them to the company.
My client suggested that the storytelling discussion I scripted was merely “communicating for the sake of communicating.” There was no place for that at a business meeting. Storytelling would contribute little to the meeting. It would have no impact on the company’s ability to meet its business goals.
Eventually, though, he acquiesced. So here’s what we did:
One of the company’s top executives – a former trial lawyer – led a storytelling discussion. He anchored the discussion in his own stories of persuading juries to agree with his point of view. The exec also defined some of the key elements of a good story – characters, conflict, context, etc. Then he asked the attendees at the meeting to work in small teams to identify meaningful stories from their experiences at work. He challenged them to think about examples of when employees lived by the company’s values or took new approaches to solving problems.
I knew what would happen – it almost always does.
The very first person who shared his story had to pause for a moment and recompose himself. This story was so meaningful and so personal to him that telling it choked him up. More than that, the story provided a great example of the kind of culture this company is aiming to achieve – where the business excels when people do the right thing.
For the next 45 minutes or so, people passed the microphone from one table to the next, eagerly sharing stories. What we heard gave real texture to the values and goals of this company. Some stories were funny, some serious. But all of them connected with the people in the room on an emotional level. And I believe they left the meeting with a better sense of what kind of company they are working for. They left with a greater sense of pride – and, I think, a commitment to drive the kind of culture the company wants to achieve.
People relate to stories. When you tell stories in your organization, you are giving your employees clear examples of what they should be doing (or what they shouldn’t). Stories endure.
Maybe you can’t say, “We told a dozen stories this quarter, and our profitability rose 8 percent.” But tell a few stories in your organization, and I’m confident you will begin seeing people mimicking the positive and productive behavior that’s personified in those stories.
Tags: storytelling
March 11th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
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