Insight article
Storytelling: how to reset an organisation’s narrative to inspire change
In today’s VUCA world, where change is constant and where inspirational leadership has become a critical requirement for high-performing businesses, storytelling has become a recognised skill for leaders in organisations all over the world and in every industry sector.
Gone are the days of command-control leadership style. To attract and retain talent – and indeed customers – leaders need to be authentic, empowering, collaborative, involving, open to ideas and encouraging dialogue within their teams to solve complex problems and share best practice – be willing to change and go the extra mile to achieve key business objectives.
In short, a business’s differentiator comes down to people: how they personify the brand through their actions and behaviours, how this builds corporate trust, customer acquisition and loyalty.
And for leaders to win over their people – to bring them with them on a journey of uncertainty and change – they need to win hearts and minds; create meaning and purpose in the workplace. It’s not enough to connect people rationally to change. Leaders need to create an emotional connection in order to stimulate the energy and collective spirit needed to power their teams through challenging times, where change is embraced rather than seen as a threat. And yet winning hearts and minds is without doubt one of the hardest parts of change to achieve.
The Storytellers have worked with over 180 major organisations in a quest to find the most effective way of creating this emotional connection. Without doubt, storytelling has a major role to play here. But what exactly is it that makes storytelling so effective in persuading and energising individuals? What draws us to a story, and how exactly does it influence how we think, feel and act?
There are five key traits of a memorable and inspiring story, each of which can be applied to the world of business. Explore them in full by completing the form on this page.
