Crafting culture through leaders’ stories
Business cultures, especially private ones based on founder legends and family values, require deliberate work to keep the elements you want and lose the ones you don’t want. “Storytelling” and corporate legend-making can help a firm consciously guide its’ culture.
Stories can change the way we think, act, and feel. Business leaders can use the power of a well-crafted story to influence and motivate people to perform and stay on track. Stories can deliver understanding and inspire action. They can create legends that underpin a workplace culture, reduce bureaucratic rules and increase independence of thought and action.
While most business education focuses on the use of facts to drive decision processes, narratives have a tremendous impact on success. Our method for helping leaders use stories is simple but effective – Collect, Reflect, Connect and Tell.
- Collect, through interviews and facilitated sessions, the stories that make up your firm’s history.
- Reflect and categorize your stories by themes (celebratory, illustrative, cautionary, etc.).
- Connect and associate certain stories with strategies to be pursued, behaviours to change, desired adjustments to culture and other goals.
- Tell stories well by learning skills and being ready do so whenever a teaching situation arises.
If you’d like us to contact you to discuss how storytelling can work for your firm book a complimentary consultation with us below.
