Storytelling, with a purpose, is key to being a good leader. And, in fact, it is a foundational aspect of progress—when we hear how others overcame problems or situations, ideas begin to fill our heads, inspiration fills our hearts, and actions begin to create the stories that will be shared tomorrow.
An often overlooked part of leadership is to inspire, encourage, and develop people. This should be your major objective as a leader. When you do, people and organizations thrive. As shared in the two previous posts on this site, stories are one of the greatest tools we have in leadership, yet one of the most overlooked and underused.
Pivotal Stories: In 1859 a train crashed near Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. Fourteen people were killed that day. Two of the victims had recently become policyholders of a new insurance company named Northwestern Mutual. Claims for the accident totaled $3,500. Sadly, the company only had $2,000. Company leaders quickly took equity loans on their own homes to pay the claims—and do right by their policyholders. This story has been repeated to both employees and customers ever since.
Pivotal stories expose the thinking that overcame the situation. They focus on the first big win, or the first big challenge, that was overcome. Pivotal stories share the history and the mindset of how an organization deals with change.
Teamwork Stories: In 1980, Herb Brooks organized a group of young men to form what is arguably the most impressive teamwork story in history. Known today as the Miracle on Ice, the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team skated away from those Olympic Games with the gold medal. Sure, any gold medal winning team is impressive. However, the big reveal is that the U.S. Team was comprised only of college and amateur hockey players—who were competing against professional teams.
Teamwork stories detail the late nights, the contrasting talents, and the breakthrough moments when a group of people challenged a status quo, realized the missing piece of the puzzle, and changed perhaps one small aspect that improved effectiveness.
Great Work Stories: Storytelling about individual achievements should happen everyday in the workplace. They not only have the power (given in the form of recognition) to elevate an individual’s performance, but they also elevate the performance of everyone who hears the story being told.
Consider the impact the following story could have on team members. “Heather, we had only a couple of days to submit our project, and you still pushed us to explore something new—to be more creative and innovative in our approach. Thank you. Because you insisted that we try one more time, we generated some great new ideas.”
Never overlook the value of a story, especially a Great Work Story of the people inside your own organization to inspire and encourage the effectiveness of your organization. Do you have something to share to help move your organization forward? That’s a story with a purpose. Use a story. Stories work. Stories stick!
George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.