This week is National Storytelling Week in the UK. Its mission is to promote the oral tradition of storytelling.
I have always been fascinated by storytelling in corporate life. At the heart of most successful organisations is a very strong sense of purpose and direction. Great leaders typically know how to create a solid sense of purpose by delivering the organisation’s narrative effectively and with genuine commitment. These leaders understand the power of communication and influence to connect colleagues to strategy.
Storytelling helps us make sense of what’s really important about our organisations. As leaders we can use the human desire to make sense as a helpful way to increase our people’s engagement and resulting discretionary effort. I have written in previous blog posts about the American organisational theorist Karl Weick’s belief that sensemaking is, at least in part, grounded in what has already happened. Weick describes[i] sensemaking as how people seek to understand the organisation in which they work as a social process of storytelling, discussion and simplifying complexity. Through this process we can help people to develop a shared understanding of what’s important and why, as part of the transition to becoming more connected.
We have worked
with Shop Direct over several years. They have moved from being a traditional,
paper-based catalogue retailer into a leading digital retailer. When I spoke to
HR director Jacqui Humphries for my Connected Leadership book, she said that, “Storytelling is one of the most important
types of communication in an organisation and I don’t think most businesses do
enough of it. Most organisations ‘tell’ people what to do. Storytelling is all
about increasing understanding and creating an emotional connection. It’s all
about explaining why things are important and using real life examples.
Storytelling is crucial.”
Jacqui will join me as a special guest panellist following a Connected Leadership masterclass at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School which will be co-hosted by the Chartered Management Institute on the evening of Wednesday 16 March. I am very much looking forward to the event, and know Jacqui will add a great deal of insight. If you’re interested in coming along, please let me know.
Jacqui will join me as a special guest panellist following a Connected Leadership masterclass at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School which will be co-hosted by the Chartered Management Institute on the evening of Wednesday 16 March. I am very much looking forward to the event, and know Jacqui will add a great deal of insight. If you’re interested in coming along, please let me know.