Any organisation is a collection of people and is a living community. Like all communities organisations have stories and histories, which continue to be written. Knowing where we have come from, what kind of people our forbears have been and what kind of values we hold is a need we all have as communities as well as individuals. A corporate story can give us a sense of place which helps us to orientate ourselves to the future.
Collecting the stories which make up an organisation, collecting the wisdom which others have contributed and giving real shape and life to the corporate inheritance, is an important task. Without it, the people who make up the current generation remain uncertain and have no sense of where they belong.
Companies ask the people who work for them to become productive, to share knowledge and to make commitments, in short to engage with them, without explaining who they are, except perhaps through written material. Real engagement, though, happens between people and through relationships, not through pieces of paper.
Storytelling, in particular oral storytelling, engages people in very direct and personal ways. When stories are told, relationships are created and emotions are engaged. Where people share stories, a sense of belonging which has real foundations can develop and individuals can choose to become productive. From something as simple as explaining how things are done or what purpose a department serves to explaining the need for fundamental change, story is a natural and inherently egalitarian medium of communication.
In the modern business and professional environment rapid and discontinuous change means that a creative and innovative approach to what is happening is vital. Coercive management interventions have had limited success and in an increasingly knowledge-led world, people and their willingness to share knowledge are the most vital asset of any enterprise. The organisation which wants to evolve and to keep its people needs to reassess both its priorities and its way of communicating with workers in ways which are respectful and ethical.
Stories, and in particular stories based on true events closely related to current situations and crafted in particular ways have real to spark change. This is so because a well structured story gives permission and space for the listener to carry events forward in his or her imagination, to create new ideas in response to what they hear, in short to craft stories for which they can rightly claim ownership. The implications of this in the management of organisational change are tremendous.
Good storytelling sparks creativity and makes us clearer and more responsive communicators. Lesley can help groups and individuals discover their own storytelling abilities as well as find the real story of their organisation. To find out more about how she works, please contact her on lesleyrushworth@yahoo.co.uk
To read more about how stories can be effective in organisations, an excellent text is 'The Springboard' by Stephen Denning. Another interesting site is www.storydynamics.com.
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