An article from Fast Company, Every Leader Tells a Story discusses the importance of the leader’s story in bringing about change.
“Leadership is about change, it’s about taking people from where they are now to where they need to be. The best way to get people to venture into unknown terrain is to make it desirable by taking them there in their imaginations.” – Noel M. Tichy
Stories are a powerful way of taking people on a journey in their imagination. Stories are sticky as Peter Orton, who enrolled at Stanford to write a PhD thesis on the effects of story structure on audiences, says “Stories enhance attention, create anticipation, increase retention. They provide a familiar set of ‘hooks’ that allow us to process the information that we hang on them.“
Leaders practice telling stories that have, what Noel Tichy calls “a teachable point of view” which he describes as “a set of ideas about success in the marketplace and a set of values based on personal and organizational success.”
One of the best ways in which leaders communicate their “teachable point of view” is through a story, effective leaders tell the following three stories:
- The Who I Am story: which draws on personal experience: “The most effective leaders are in touch with their personal stories.”
- The Who We Are story: a narrative that provides continuity amid rapid change.
- The Where We Are Going story: “Pretend that you’re on the cover of Fortune – I mean Fast Company – five years out. How did you get there? What will you be doing?”
Leaders in their everyday conversation should be telling their leadership stories. Stories about who we are and where we going on an regular basis. What stories are you using to lead? Are you using them to create insights into who you are and where you’re going?
Technorati Tags: Story, Communication, Management, Teaching, Leadership
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