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February 4th, 2009 by Leadership Catalyst

Storytelling & Leadership
Lately I have been invited by a number of C-level suite managers to help them move their teams through the challenging times many companies are facing. One of the interesting observations I made during many of these sessions was how ‘professional’ most of these managers were as they tried to communicate with their teams.

While the intention of the communication was to elicit an esprit de corps, a common mentality of ‘yes, we can’ (to borrow a phrase that has become a game changer in US history) most of these managers achieved the opposite. Fact based, devoid of emotions and, as I mentioned above, ‘professional’, their communication to the team ended up being a lifeless stream of words that did not elicit the hoped for effect in the audience.
Leaders throughout history have always known a little secret: want to get your followers fully emotionally involved and rearing to go? Use stories and metaphors, paint pictures, create images and the people will buy in.

The Keys To Their Heart
Of course this contradicts a large percentage of the left-brain driven current management elite who trust that the facts and nothing but the facts suffice to get a logical (professional) mind to come to the correct conclusion and take the unavoidable actions…

But the brain is made up of more than the left sphere. There is still the right sphere, the emotional/creative side of us humans. It is here that the true engagement ‘from the heart’ happens. It is this part of the brain that you, the leader, will want to set on fire to get your team fully bought in to follow your cause… and the keys to this side of the brain are not facts and figures… the keys are metaphors and stories!

The Moon In A Bowl Of Water
Here is a nice little story shared by the Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm to explain the stillness of the mind and it’s importance when wanting to perceive truth:
Take a bowl and fill it with water. Now set this bowl on the ground under a full moon. As you step back and the water has time to settle down you will be able to see the moon reflected in the water with perfect clarity, in all it’s details. You are able to perceive the essence of the moon, it’s total truth.

Now, step up to the bowl and shake it! What will happen? The water surface will be filled with ripples, shattering the clear and true image of the moon, leaving you with a distorted, ugly image of the moon.
The water is like our spirit, in stillness it will perceive truth, if it is agitated by the ego it will only see distorted realities and come to the wrong conclusions.

Blame It On Darwin
Just in case your left brain is butting in at this point and muttering “well, I’m a serious kinda fella and who’s got time for silly storytelling anyhow?” you might want to consider that our brain’s predilection to learning and making decisions through stories is anchored in our evolutional trajectory:
Before the advent of the alphabet, paper, computers, powerpoints and exel sheets human beings were guided and learned through oral history that kept the cultural fiber of a tribe/culture alive… in other words: all our cultures are based on a foundation of story telling!

So, yes, our very survival through the evolutional cycle depended on how well we learned from, and reacted to the stories our elders told us around the campfire… isn’t it time you discovered some of that old magic again and got your company tribe around the campfire?

Need Some Help Getting Started?
Having fully grasped the importance and implications of stories and metaphors many of these C-level leaders discovered to their dismay that their ‘story telling muscle’ had atrophied over the years through lack of use!

Fear not, get in touch, let me know what kind of message you want to convey to your people and I will support you in finding the appropriate story. This support is strictly pro bono to help you and your team move fast and master the challenging times ahead.

Write me a mail to: roger AT rogerkonopasek DOT com and together we will find the story to get your team going