Why Leaders Should Be Storytellers: And How to Become One
The art of storytelling can be traced back to the earliest days of human history. Cave drawings and illustrated experiences eventually evolved into spoken tales and traditions shared around campfires. Enter any museum and you’ll see artifacts depicting crude forms of storytelling from every culture. Many of these stories and legends passed down from one generation to another are still shared today. We adore them and share them time and again through word of mouth, books, movies, or any number of artistic interpretations. Why? Everybody loves a good story! They teach and entertain… they allow us to impart knowledge, to inspire, and to motivate.
Storytelling is a critical success tool for any leader. Imagine attending a meeting without visual narratives, case studies, or a good old-fashioned tale to drive home the information shared…. Boring, right? Unfortunately, the incredibly impactful art of storytelling is often left to motivational speakers, teachers, librarians, and entertainers… and doesn’t always make its way to the corporate domain. While this is slowly changing, your leadership journey will excel exponentially when you embrace the art of storytelling and learn how to artfully weave it into your work. Great leaders who build high performance teams know the positive impact of storytelling. Simply put, it helps them teach… and inspire their teams to greater heights.
Here’s a few ways you can use storytelling successfully as a leader:
Use Storytelling to Build Trust. When you share a personal story… perhaps a lesson learned, you’re inviting others to “peak behind the curtain” and better understand who you are as a person and as a leader. If the narrative is humbling, even better. It provides you with an opportunity to be transparent, vulnerable, and relatable – three key characteristics of successful leaders. Stories invite others to connect with you… from board members to new employees, from across the aisle and up the ladder. Stories bring people together. Talking about your own experiences by sharing them in stories allows others to connect with you on a whole new level… a deeper level. It gives your leadership dimensionality.
Use Storytelling to Teach. You probably remember teachers who taught by using stories. They engaged you… you learned from their lessons. Likewise, stories add color and depth to the lessons leaders impart – and they help ensure retention. Your team may not remember each of the specific bullet points that flash across your screen, but they’ll remember your story… and that story will help them understand your key message. It will continue to provide direction long after your meeting, presentation, or conversation.
Another powerful way to leverage storytelling is by using case studies or third person anecdotes. When you want to help others reflect on behaviors which they may be unable to see in themselves or fully comprehend, you can use “third person” narratives. Say, for example, you have a team member who is creating animosity with clients by being abrupt, curt, or dismissive… yet they simply see themselves as being “efficient” and “to the point” (with no awareness of their negative impact on others). In this scenario, you could share a case study or a non-confidential story about someone else’s similar behavior and impact… and then challenge your team member to hypothetically assume the role of leader for that “third person” so they can provide relevant coaching and guidance. Helping your employees step outside of themselves allows them to see the situation from a different perspective – and it often helps with developing empathy and bolstering awareness. In fact, case studies are great learning vehicles in group settings. Bringing this kind of exercise to your team enhances the quality of meetings, builds cohesiveness, promotes creative thinking, and helps impart valuable learning lessons.
Use Storytelling to Support. There are many different types of learners. Some of us like traditional classroom learning, some of us prefer reading. Some learn by studying data, facts, and details, and some of us are tactile learners. Many of us need visuals cues… and most of us learn best by actually “doing”. That said, almost everyone’s learning is supported and enhanced by stories. Strong emotional and cognitive connections are fused through storytelling. The brain functions differently when exposed to stories, firing up complex networks of neurons and activating our brain in ways that bring memories together and stores them into mental files, instantly accessible through recollection or triggers. Think about a song you heard when you were hanging with friends or doing something special. Whenever you hear that song, you’re instantly transported back to that time and place. Storytelling creates a similar experience. When tasked with a challenge, we recall how we’ve successfully handled this challenge before, or a story about someone else’s success, we pull from our mental files to create a roadmap for proceeding forward.
Use Storytelling to Wow. Perhaps storytelling’s biggest impact – is its “wow factor”. Sharing a narrative that evokes emotion will engage your audience and create a lasting impact. You don’t need to overthink to create a story… and your story doesn’t necessarily need to be personal. We’re surrounded by great stories… simply turn on your television. It’s not difficult to find stories of people making personal sacrifices for the greater good, comedians sharing humorous perspectives on everyday things, or commercials that can move you to tears. If one of these stories sticks with you and moves you emotionally, tie it to the message you want to convey – and share it with your audience. Move them… make them cry and make them laugh. Get them to “feel”. They’ll remember your message, and they’ll never forget you as their leader.
If you’d like to learn more… A great resource for leaders… and aspiring storytellers is Carmine Gallo’s “The Storyteller’s Secret”. Check it out – there are some great lessons, tips, tricks, and yes “stories” – that will help you engage your colleagues on a whole new level.