The stories we tell: the art of storytelling to inspire your teams

Navigating change is no longer a requirement; it's an inevitability. Whether it's adapting to technology advancements, market shifts, or internal restructuring, that ability to manage change effectively is a critical skill for leaders.

Storytelling emerges as a powerful tool, enabling leaders and others in your organisation to weave a narrative that not only communicates the need for change but also resonates deeply with employees, making them more relatable and inspiring people to action.

But it's not just those at the very top of an org. chart that can benefit from using stories inspire and motivate. And it's not always big change initiatives that benefit from the ability to craft a compelling narrative.

Personal stories for everyone
Consider a new Team Lead who wants to make some changes and is facing some resistance and scepticsm. They might tell a personal story about themselves and how they became inspired to do what they do, and then tell a story of a previous successes adopting this new way of working. Those stories makes them more relatable as a person, builds trust and gives the team confidence ahead of the change.

Bringing information to life
I have used simple storytelling techniques in many scenarios over the years, and here is a story about a story…

As an experienced UX Lead on a large product team, I was struggling to get over the benefits and importance of empathy and research across to a large group of stakeholders. There was some resistance to spending the necessary time to do this, so I needed to really bring the benefits and value to life somehow.

I shared a story to a group about how, on a previous a big retail project, I struggled to get to grips with, and make sense of, all the complex information I'd been given in decks and documents. I didn't have a lot of time to get a deep dive, the team was coming together soon expecting me to have a very good working knowledge of what we were trying to do. So I asked a product owner with retail store manager experience if he could help, and we then spent the next day together 'walking in the shoes' of users at a store, talking to employees, digging into the pain points and challenges, asking questions and getting valuable insight.

Through a simple bit of storytelling I was able to bring to life the value of empathy, human-centred design and importance of taking time to do some primary research out in the field. I could have used numbers and facts, and in a rather dry manner explained the need, but chose to do this in a way that would be more relatable and connect in a more human and emotional way.

Storytelling as a bridge to understanding
Storytelling, in these instances, not only becomes a bridge between leadership vision and employee engagement but also a pathway to understanding. It's about connecting with the emotions and experiences of colleagues, making the need for change resonate, and feel personal and urgent.

This emotional connection inspires trust and belief, compelling individuals to adopt change and take meaningful actions. Simplicity in storytelling can minimise confusion, making information memorable and accessible.

Crafting - the art of storytelling
Telling stories does not necessarily require a large team or a big project or initiative. We can all tell stories, our brains are wired that way and we've all had to do it in our lives at some point. It does however require practice and the honing of a craft - including understanding your audience, the different ways to tell and share that story, the medium to choose to use to maximise reach and impact.