Why stories matter so much

Why do stories matter so much?

“Everybody is a story. Everybody’s story matters; our true identity, who we are, why we are here, what sustains us is in this story.” Reman

Story is a crucial, perhaps even the primary means by which we make sense of our lived experience. Story is the oldest and most human form of communication we have and I believe when used well is the most powerful. We are constantly telling and retelling stories, to others and to ourselves about what we know and what we imagine to be going on around us and within us. Stories are woven into the fabric of our lives: they shape our sense of self, our sense of belonging to community and our sense of how the world works. We use story to make meaning for ourselves, to help create our identity whether personal or organisational.

Critically for organisational life, and of enormous importance for organisational leaders, stories are laden with implicit value-­‐judgements. The culture of an organisation is both reflected in and shaped by the stories that are told.

Your story is important, it matters and how you tell it can make all the difference. A story can be motivational it can enable personal and organizational change. Stories can be truly inspirational and its these human stories, individual and communal that draw people to them; they want to be part of the ongoing story -­‐ this is where their power lies.

As novelist Ben Okri puts it: Stories are the secret reservoir of values: change the stories [that] individuals or nations live by and you change the individuals and nations themselves.

It is possible for a written story to engage the imagination but all written forms maintain a certain distance between the reader and the writer. The spoken word, on the other hand, brings people into each other’s presence.

A good story not only engages the imagination of the listener but also reveals the speaker’s passion (or lack of it). It is a “moment of truth” that reveals far more than the words alone.

Tellers and listeners meet each other in a profoundly human way. Facts inform, and arguments can persuade but a well-­‐told story can reach out and inspire.

"Once you understand...that life is an unfolding story and that you are the storyteller who can shape and play with it on the page, then use that page as you would a roadmap, you gain tremendous power in your life." Juliet Bruce, Living Story

When is storytelling particularly useful?

Each life is a unique story. It is useful working with individuals on autobiographical storytelling as a creative exploration of our experiences, imagination and inner life. Working with personal life experiences can help us use memories to reflect, to attach a sense of meaning to the past and make sense of life and the future. It works towards a holistic sense of healing.

Though rarely appearing in a job description, understanding and tapping the power of stories effectively and ethically are vital tasks for organisations. The senior managers and leaders can use story in many ways.

1 Communicating vision and purpose Stories are the most powerful way of articulating and communicating vision and purpose.

Remember Martin Luther King’s famous speech: he did not present a five-­‐point plan for improving race relations, complete with powerpoint presentation. Instead, he told the story of his dream of a time when black children and white children would be judged not by the colour of their skin but by their character and abilities. By doing so, by exercising what we might call “narrative leadership” he touched the hearts and minds of a generation.

2 Imagining future possibilities Conventional strategic planning attempts to forecast the future rationally and determine the steps to be taken towards a particular goal. But we can only put energy into what we can imagine. Story techniques offer another perspective, enabling us to take an imaginative leap into a future from which we can “backcast” to see the steps that will have been taken to reach there. A good story extends our sense of the possible. The richer the picture and the more evocative the story, the more it can help bring that future into being.

3 Developing personal authority Leaders, managers, teachers and change agents of all kinds are more effective when they understand more deeply how their personal authority is evoked by the stories they tell. And this requires a significant shift from relying on the theoretical or on an unreflective mirroring of ‘how things are done around here’, to individually developing their authority and authentic ‘personal narrative’, communicating their story of who they are and what they contribute to the wider purposes of organisational and life. Personal authority grows when we can say clearly ‘who I am and what I bring’.

4 Building effective teams Doing good work at senior level requires effective teams whose members know and trust each other. In organisations where time is scarce and the pressure to perform is intense, we sometimes try to accelerate this process by management “awaydays” and retreats. But all too often the results are shallow and transitory. One of the enduring ways we create human communities is by sharing our personal stories and by listening to others. Healthy communities (and effective teams) stay open to new and different stories and enable everyone to have a voice.

5 Diagnosing and changing culture Most culture change efforts fail and one of the most common reasons is the reification of organisational culture (as if it were a thing to be operated upon) and consequent failure to address the underlying issues. Personal and organisational stories reveal the behaviours, values, beliefs, and assumptions that actively constitute the culture and the contradictions between what is espoused and what gets enacted day-­‐to-­‐day. Successful change efforts pay attention to these stories and work hard to shift them.

6 Capturing and sharing knowledge In fast-­‐moving environments, especially when there is rapid turnover of key staff, organisational memory quickly evaporates and hard won expertise lost. Research in the field of knowledge management highlights the crucial role of exchanging stories in the sharing and development of “know-­‐how” especially in complex and difficult situations. There are other kinds of vitally important knowledge (short-­‐term and long-­‐term) embedded at a whole-­‐system level that can only be revealed by systematic narrative inquiry.

7 Working with conflict

When we are stuck in conflict or caught up in the same old bind, we can gain perspective and leverage on the problem by using story to step outside the immediate situation. This way of working draws on recent developments in narrative therapy which help people better understand the influence a problem has over them and ways in which they can gain influence over the problem. Through stories we can lower our defences and laugh at the ridiculous, acknowledging outmoded and unhelpful ways of being and doing things – in ourselves and in others.