Building Resilience and Boosting Morale with the Power of Story

Leaders have the opportunity to connect with their employees in a powerful way. In order to build a sustainable and positive future, leaders must listen to the stories being told and how they themselves are telling stories, learn from them, and examine what makes them most effective.

From the beginning of time, storytelling is a tool that has helped cultures make sense of a world that is rapidly changing. It’s in our DNA and, as such, should be in the DNA of your organization. Through storytelling, you will engage the hearts, minds, and creativity needed to attract and retain talent, spur collaboration and growth, and ensure a healthy, cohesive, and vital work environment that surpasses rapidly outdated models.

Story structure can even be embedded in the mundane to make the mundane transformative. At Amazon, Jeff Bezos does away with your typical PowerPoint presentation in favor of memos written using a narrative structure. By taking the time to craft a compelling narrative, the memo lands where it needs to – in the engaged minds of his team members and not in the circular file in their office. 

Bezos believes that writing memos in a narrative format leads to more innovative and productive conversations. He values it so highly that he makes sure to give team members adequate time to truly perfect the craft. In a company that places a premium on their employees’ time, this is saying something. 

Stories have the power to connect us. They help us challenge outmoded and disabling assumptions and ideas thus motivating us to take comprehensive, cohesive, and courageous action.  In the midst of uncertainty, nothing less will do. The senior executives who know this, who can frame challenges compellingly using story, will succeed in building resilience, cohesion, and morale among their team.

Here are 3 Key Ingredients of Powerful Storytelling:

1. RELATE TO YOUR AUDIENCE

As Maya Angelou once said, "At the end of the day, people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel."

Finding common ground with the people you are speaking to creates empathy. When your audience empathizes with you, they become engaged. This is vital. Be specific, be personal, be fearless.

2. DON’T START AT THE BEGINNING

Change up the narrative. Play with expectations. Use the element of surprise. In order to avoid your audience tuning out after ten seconds, you have to grab their attention. 

One way to do this is not to tell the story chronologically. Start at the end rather than the beginning. Here’s why this works: Listeners lean into conversations that start with a result because it compels them to think, “how did that happen? How did they get there? And then what?” 

This storytelling style creates intrigue and builds engagement.

3. ALWAYS HAVE A POSITIVE TAKEAWAY

Leaders are on the frontlines when it comes to alleviating fear and anxiety among employees. Successful leaders know how to be a source of strength and support for those around them and are able to empower others to do the same. This benefits everyone.

When facing emotional intensity or overwhelm that manifests in disengagement or reactivity, story can be used to transform these feelings into empowerment and positive action. Share stories of how people overcame adversity and turned challenges into opportunities. A compelling story always has a lesson. So, when you’re telling a story, ask yourself: What’s the takeaway? Am I inspiring my team to take meaningful action?

Not only are empowering stories good for everyone’s mental and physical health, they are good for the health of your organization.  

INSPIRE YOUR TEAM THROUGH STORYTELLING 

Utilizing the simple but powerful tools of storytelling will empower you and your employees to navigate uncertain times with purpose, meaningful engagement, and confidence. The most impactful leaders know this. So, what’s your story?

Pioneering Collective exists at the intersection of personal PR, thought leadership, transformational coaching, and powerful networking to transform your hard-earned wisdom into heavyweight impact - personally, professionally, and culturally.  We invite trailblazing leaders to join Pioneering Collective, to tell stories in compelling ways and stretch beyond the status quo to connect and drive impact.