Category: Leadership

My last post on what makes a great story talked about the need for an element of struggle and endeavour. The next critical success factor focuses on the human need to feel part of something bigger than ourselves.

Humans are social, tribal beings. Being a member of a club, sports team, religion, political party, or supporting a movement of any kind not only helps define and reinforce our identity and sense of belonging, but gives us a purpose – something we can contribute to along with others for a greater good.

We often use the ‘NASA’ story as an example. The story goes that J F Kennedy was visiting NASA, and asked a cleaner what he did there. “I’m here to help put a man on the moon” was the answer. He clearly believed that the part he played in achieving the bigger mission was important, albeit small. Similarly, an Olympic athlete is part of a team who, behind the scenes, all contribute to his or her success – and that team plays a bigger, patriotic role in the wider Olympic movement.

In business, we work in teams, where everyone needs to feel that they play a part in a collective effort to realise an organisation’s mission and vision. They need to feel valued – that they matter, that they belong, that what they do counts. They need to feel that they’re heroes, however small the part they play. Through team dialogue, listening and encouraging ideas for new and better ways of working, leaders can and must nurture this feeling of belonging, personal contribution and ownership.

Your strategic or change narrative should act as a framework within which people can play out their small acts of heroism. And telling stories of success and achievement which clearly link back to the narrative will reinforce progress, build belief and encourage others to follow. With a clear call to arms, your strategic narrative will sit at the heart of this movement of change – a symbol of hope, ambition and commitment to a brighter future.

Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?

We’re often asked why a good strategic or change narrative can be so compelling, why its cut-through can be so dramatic and fast, and how it can shift mindsets and inspire belief and confidence in the future. What, for example, compelled employees at two companies we have partnered with, to retract their resignations once they’d heard their internal narrative? What was it about the story we crafted for a major building society that prompted a frontline IT employee to say “this story has been life-changing”?

A good story, like any Hollywood movie, involves an element of struggle and endeavour. Our flawed hero(es) (in the business world, employees) need a challenge to overcome. They need to collectively set out on a journey to resolve that challenge and, in doing so, transform. But the threat that lurks needs to be real and ever-present – it makes the story authentic, and gives us a reason to come together in response to a call to arms.

It’s no good creating a story that merely paints a rosy picture of the company and its future. That’s simply PR spin, lacking in credibility, authenticity and a recognition of what needs to change – and what we need to do to respond. It’s threat of what MIGHT happen, if we don’t take action, which triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response, releasing hormones which create empathy and trust as we will our hero to succeed against the odds. Remember that rickety old boat in the movie JAWS, where Quint, Brody and Hooper set out to find the man-eating shark, complete with duh-duh-duh-duh music signalling a potential imminent attack to heighten the threat? Remember that feeling of tension? Great storytelling, even if the shark wasn’t particularly believable!.

Leaders can inspire trust and followship in their teams using the same storytelling techniques, especially if their personal leadership story has an element of struggle and endeavour (humility is a strength, not a weakness). It can create a powerful, visceral response. If you’re not championing storytelling as a leader, you may be missing a trick.