Narrative Change, by Hans Hansen (introduction)

Hans Hansen

NARRATIVE CHANGE How Changing the Story Can Transform Society, Business, and Ourselves

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his book is about leading change by creating and enacting new narratives. The simplest and broadest conceptualization of change is moving from the old way of doing things to a new way of doing things. Although this is easily said, making these changes entails understanding many subtle processes that we rarely examine. To lead transformational change, we need to devote attention to two main processes. The first— the most overlooked aspect of change in both our theories and practices—is overcoming or resisting pressures to keep doing things the same way we have “always” done things. The second is enacting change, bringing new ideas and vision into the real world. My method calls for creating and enacting narratives.

Narratives are central to change and overlap conceptually with change. Almost all change models describe several stages, beginning with a current state, describing actions that move or change things, and establishing a new future state.1 Similarly, the basic form of a narrative begins with an original state of affairs, describes actions or events as they unfold, and leads to a new state of affairs.2 Narratives tell a story about what happened, or what should happen; they represent our understanding of reality, the way things are, or the way we would like things to be.3

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Much of what we know is stored in narrative form—stories about why things are the way they are. Narratives plot events and draw relationships between them, implying both motives and causes. Narratives are ordered representations of our cognitive schema, the way we think. How do we attain this order? To make sense of our experience and arrive at explanations of “what happened,” we create coherent stories about what happened and why. Existing narratives offer an explanation of what happened by looking back on events, but narratives also lay out guidelines for “what to do” when facing future events with similar circumstances. When we construct narratives out of our experience, we are crafting a response to a situation that can become a routine response.

Much of our cultural knowledge and values reside in and are shared via stories, such as “ ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” which establishes a norm that we should not lie. Narratives are repositories of our knowledge, telling us how to act in certain situations. Our shared values are carried in popular narratives that outline the way things are, how they should be, and how we should act. Once we learn these narratives, they shape our understanding of events, and we use them to determine what we should do or how we should act in certain situations. Narratives condition us to see the world in particular ways, and how we see things determines how we act or respond. Applying an existing narrative determines our response. We do as the narrative directs us.

The cultural narrative “If you want something done right, do it yourself ” entails values of rugged individualism and selfreliance. Narratives often contain causal logics that set our expectations: in this case, doing something all by yourself is the only way to accomplish anything. Seeking help is discouraged. Many of our most popular success stories are about individuals who

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have “pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps,” improving their lives by getting out of bad circumstances without help.

These stories socialize us to believe that success by our own efforts goes beyond assuming that you can do something by yourself to believing that you should do everything by yourself.

The downside of this narrative is that it discourages us from asking for help when we need it. This is a significant downside, as you will see, because narratives control our behavior.

Narratives are the products of our collective sensemaking.4 When we produce a narrative, we generate some view of the world.5 If narratives become widely shared in a culture, they establish particular assumptions about how things should be, positing cause-and-effect logics that lead to some value-laden end. In addition to defining how things should be done, existing narratives serve as interpretive schema that we use to make sense of everyday events. We don’t know what to think about a situation until we apply a narrative as an interpretive tool. All experience is filtered through narratives. We use narratives to define the situation—whether the event is good or bad in our culture—then use other narratives to guide our decisions about what to do.

We search our minds for narratives that tell us what to think and what to do in every situation we encounter. For example, I lived abroad on several occasions, and I encountered a unique cultural narrative to explain this event: When a bird poops on you, it is considered good luck! I do not know if I ever adopted the logic of this popular narrative (the logic of narratives often remains implicit or unspoken); I did not linger under building ledges hoping to be hit with some bird luck, but it did help me accept a few ill-timed pigeon droppings with a smile and a shrug. This particular narrative directs those who accept it to respond positively to something that otherwise may seem like

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a negative event. At the very least, people in those cultures have a grin and bear it attitude compared to my worldview, in which bird poop dropping on you could ruin your day. As we apply the same narratives to guide us through various experiences time and time again, they become so entrenched and widely accepted that they are taken for granted and never questioned. I don’t know if I could be convinced of the logic statement that bird poop is good luck, but the assumption seems impervious to criticism: It’s just good luck! In all cultures, some widespread narratives have a history that gives them this privileged status—they are unquestionable and beyond reproach. Some are so ingrained that even questioning them violates norms, but that is exactly what must happen if we are to pursue narrative change.

Challenging or changing entrenched narratives can be difficult, but it is also true that we create new narratives all the time.

All narratives were created by us (where else could they come from?), and there is no reason to think we have suddenly stopped creating narratives and are stuck with the current story. For example, when novel events occur, we often craft a new narrative to help us make sense of the new situation and posit some appropriate action. Recognizing that we create and use narratives all the time is helpful because changing the way things are requires that we create a new narrative vision for how we want things to be. The logic blueprint for bringing the new vision into reality through action goes like this: If we do this, then that will happen.

I use the term narrative to describe this process, and researchers confirm that having a compelling vision with a vivid description is crucial when leading change.6 Enacting new narratives to create transformational change is the central idea in this book. Narratives connect the normal to the extraordinary, creating a bridge from how things are to how they can be. Narratives explain and create deviations from

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the norm,7 which is crucial when leading change. This narrative ability enables us to plot how our actions can lead to even the most extraordinary future state.

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But there are challenges. To enact a new vision, we must break free from the control of the old way of doing things. One of the main differences of my approach from most theories of change is that I assert that the old way of doing things is much harder to overcome than these theories imply, if they discuss this at all. Before we get to enacting change, we must devote some attention to how the old institutionalized ways of doing things pressure us to conform.8 We must resist these pressures. It is a substantial challenge.

The old way of doing things often has the status of an unquestioned norm, and we may not even be conscious of the narrative that directs us to do things the way they have always been done.

The old way of doing things can become so entrenched that it guides us on autopilot. We follow the logic of the established narrative mindlessly, unaware of our conformity. Change implies nonconformity, and resisting the old way requires tremendous purposeful effort. The overlooked task of overcoming the current way of doing things is as difficult as, and a key aspect of, enacting change and establishing a new way of doing things.

Another main assumption I hold is that our actions are always guided by something—always. None of us has ever taken action based on nothing. It may be difficult to articulate, such as cultural norms, but our actions are guided even if this something is so deeply seeded, so normalized, that we do not realize we are going by it. Not being aware of the narrative ensures that we will remain stuck in our old ways. So the double whammy is that

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unquestioned narratives guide our actions, and we are not even aware of them.9 In fact, we often remain stuck in our old way of doing things even when it no longer serves us and, yes, even when it becomes detrimental to us.

Whether conscious of it or not, members of organizations already have a way of doing things, even if their early practices amounted to little more than norms defined by default or happenstance. Established ways become more deeply institutionalized over time. Even narratives that grew out of a series of ad hoc responses are not easily dismissed. The old way of doing things has a powerful control over us, shaping how we think, act, and see things. Change is not as simple as creating a vision and putting it in place. Change does not take place in a vacuum.

Focusing on the things we are already doing provides a muchneeded dynamic and reflexive view for transformation. My approach takes into account the pressure to conform to existing norms even as we try to change them. Change normally involves a confrontation between the old way and a new way, so learning how to fight against the old way is crucial when enacting change.

As you will see, we are often unwitting participants in tightening the grip the old way has on us, even when we are trying to change.

You may have heard it put this way: “You can’t change the system; you’re part of the system.” This is a long-held paradox of change.10 How do we alter institutions, organizations, cultures, and communities even as they pressure us to conform to their norms?

Although definitely a challenge, I believe that change from the inside is possible. In this book I describe how to conceptualize these complexities and outline how we might resist the control of institutions as we set about changing them. Any new narrative must fight against existing narratives to gain a foothold.

By examining how narratives are created and become established or institutionalized, we can learn how to create and enact new ones.

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To summarize, narratives guide how we think and act. As we navigate situations, we enact narratives. We may not be consciously aware of the narrative and the rules or norms it entails, but our actions stabilize narratives, and they become norms.

Over time, what should be done in certain situations eventually becomes THE way things are done. For example, we have a narrative about the way things are done in elevators. We let people out before we get on; we step in, select our floor, and look toward the doors. This narrative entails several norms, and we adhere to them pretty strictly. We are probably on autopilot while enacting this narrative, and in this way narratives control us.

The big picture is that we can change the way we think and act, and we can change the way things are done, the way things are understood. Learning the social psychology behind narratives and the art of narrative change helps us meet this goal. My model of change helps you understand how you might loosen the control of existing narratives and enact new narratives that enable you to foster change. You will gain insights into how we got here, which is beneficial in providing a perspective on how norms and institutions form and then control us. That additional point of view is helpful in understanding what you are up against when enacting change.

One of the payoffs is that you will be able to apply these lessons to your organization, community, team, or your own life, immediately. You might also coach others and help them develop narratives for themselves, such as the personal leadership narratives I discuss later. If you are going to live by a narrative, you might as well be the one to create it. You will accomplish more of what you want to do.

I am giving you a powerful tool, but with powerful tools come strong cautions. My hope is that you will use this knowledge for good, but as you will come to see, it can be used toward less

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benevolent ends. You can attempt to control people by crafting new narratives that give you power over the way they act. My preferred goal is for you to become conscious of the narratives that govern your actions and to understand how others may have control over you.

I provide the tools you need to enact large-scale transformational change of any kind, from creating an entirely new culture for your organization or team to generating a concrete strategy for a social movement. Or you can start by changing yourself. The model of narrative change applies just as well to personal transformation as it does to large-scale change. Because the model is rooted in a description of how change happens naturally, you can use it not only to understand change or the way things are done but also to create new ways of doing things. Perhaps you just conform to “society,” but even then, you might free yourself from narratives that constrain your possibilities. In fact, emancipation from controlling narratives may be more valuable than creating a new narrative, and this model will help you do both.

To illustrate the model of narrative change, I tell the unlikely but miraculous story of Texas’s first permanent death penalty defense team. We brought about a large-scale transformational change in how the death penalty operates in Texas. I was lucky enough to be involved from the start with a small team of people in a new office charged with defending indigent defendants against the death penalty in Texas. What began as a ragtag group of misfits became an unstoppable team that managed to resist tremendous pressure to conform as we enacted a new way of doing things. Our success was nearly unimaginable.

We began in West Texas, where the State of Texas got the death penalty against the accused in capital trials more than 90 percent of the time. By the time my engagement with the team ended, our record was 70 wins and 1 death sentence. As the

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chief of the office put it to me two years after it all began, “Hans, if you had told me we would be this successful at the start of all this, no one would have believed you. I never imagined we would be this successful. No one did.”

Throughout the book, I use Uber as a corporate illustration to examine organizational change using the narrative change model as a lens. Uber has gone through an upheaval, to say the least. The $70 billion ride-sharing company is grappling with several narratives that must change if they hope to survive. Uber faces a crisis that threatens the entire organization, and Uber’s own corporate culture is largely to blame. Uber needs to change “who we are” and especially “the way things are done around here.” I describe how they are using many of the same principles of the narrative change model to enact a much-needed transformational change. I chose Uber because many of you will be familiar with the challenges they face. Whether changes must be made to a powerful institution such as the death penalty, or a wayward company that faces dissolution, the narrative change model can help you understand and inspire change.

I have been all over the country and overseas sharing these narrative change methods in various contexts. I have been able to apply them with success in a variety of change settings: to change corporate cultures, to improve public services, to inspire innovation, to create brand narratives, and to develop new products. Although I use my encounter with the death penalty and change at Uber as compelling examples, there are lessons for organizational, social, institutional, and even personal change.

You can also use the model to inspire social movements that benefit society or to develop individual leaders inside your organization. In this book, I explain the same narrative change model I used in all of these contexts and share the underlying philosophical perspectives.

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Transformational change is never easy. Changing the death penalty took a toll on all of us. The work was tormenting, and everyone on the team witnessed and experienced many types of suffering. I visited death row, twice. Most death penalty defense attorneys burn out quickly. I felt that same stress, and my convictions were certainly tested. Anguish nearly crushed my psyche; my job was in jeopardy. And on that journey, I was often confronted with the ghosts of my own past. At the same time, my past gave me a perspective essential to understanding change.

Internal challenges are often part of leading transformational change. I share personal notes about how I addressed those challenges because I think these stories may be helpful in your own change endeavors. Transformational change is hard work, but even at the toughest points, I found the work to be restorative and fulfilling. Engaging in the change process changed me. It gave me an intense purpose, and the work was deeply rewarding.

Once I got involved in fighting the death penalty, I definitely felt driven to make a difference. Something was at stake for me as well. Looking back, I think those two things helped me overcome the challenges of change. When our convictions are tested, we stand at a turning point in pursuing change. Our convictions can crumble, and we may give up. But if we feel driven to make a difference and have something at stake—how things will be in the future—our convictions can become a source of strength as we become more determined to achieve change.

I often say that my involvement in the death penalty came out of the blue—it is true that it was quite unexpected—but there is another, just as plausible, explanation. Looking back, it is possible that I was on an inevitable collision course with the death penalty. That story explains how I came to study narrative theory in the first place and, coincidentally (or maybe it was fate), how I got to thinking narratives could be used to construct

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something better than a traditional strategy. Upon reflection, I also see how creating and enacting a new narrative saved me from a deadly affliction. In that collision course version of what happened, changing the system against long odds is what I had been wrought to do.

Every experience I had ever had, every failure, especially my failures, shaped me for the challenge I faced. In that version, my entire life prepared me for this journey, despite my own plan to go into hiding and isolate myself from the world. As I found out, sometimes your destiny finds you on the very road you take to avoid it.

Praise for NARRATIVE

CHANGE

“This is a smart and eminently readable treatment of a novel approach to social, organizational, and personal change. Hans Hansen illustrates his method through an impressive first-hand account of how a small team of social justice advocates was able to change the way the death penalty operates in Texas. The lively and enthusiastic writing carries readers along a storyline that rests on solid scholarship and considerable social science research. A must-read for those interested in the role our narratives play in maintaining or transforming the status quo.” d JOHN VAN MAANEN , emeritus professor of organization studies, Massachusetts Institute

of Technology, and author of Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography

“The way Hans has changed the death penalty in Texas has been miraculous! If his narrative change methods can work on that inexorable institution, they can work anywhere. If Hans says this is the way to change something, just do it!” d SISTER HELEN PREJEAN , author of Dead Man Walking

“Hansen shows us how narrative theory can be used for social change in a way that is both theoretically simple and eminently practical. He does this by telling the story of how he inadvertently got involved with fighting the death penalty in Texas and the surprising success they had when they used these ideas. This is not only a must-read for anyone interested in social change, it is a great story that is nearly impossible to put down.” d STEVEN S. TAYLOR , professor of leadership and creativity and dean ad interim, Foisie Business School, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

“Hansen has produced a brilliant, thought-provoking, and inspiring book on how narrative models can influence organizational change. Drawing on compelling institutional and organizational examples, Narrative Change offers a unique perspective on change management. Every page has something fascinating and important to say.” d JOHN HASSARD , Alliance Manchester Business School

$27.95

ISBN: 978-0-231-18442-7