In this interview, Paul talks about how to use storytelling as a leadership tool, ways that storytelling can make leaders more effective, why storytelling it important, and more.
How do companies make storytelling part of their leadership practices?
Some of the most successful companies in the world use storytelling very intentionally as a leadership tool. Organizations like Microsoft, Motorola, Berkshire Hathaway, Saatchi & Saatchi, Procter & Gamble, NASA, and the World Bank are among them. They do this in several ways.
Some have a high level corporate storyteller who’s job it is to capture and share their most important stories. At Nike, in fact, all the senior executives are designated corporate storytellers.
Other companies teach storytelling skills to their executives (because they certainly aren’t learning it in business school). Kimberly-Clark, for example, provides two-day seminars to teach its 13-step program for crafting stories and giving presentations with them. 3M banned bullet points and replaced them with a process of writing “strategic narratives.” P&G has hired Hollywood movie directors to teach its senior executives how to lead better with storytelling. And some of the storytellers at Motorola belong to outside improvisational or theater groups to hone their story skills.
In what ways can storytelling help leaders be more effective?
The short answer is that storytelling is useful in far more situations than most leaders realize. The five most commonly used are probably these: inspiring the organization, setting a vision, teaching important lessons, defining culture and values, and explaining who you are and what you believe.
But there are so many more. In my research for the book, I interviewed over 75 CEOs and executives at dozens of companies around the world and found them using stories in a much wider range of leadership challenges than I ever expected. For example, storytelling is useful when heavy influence is required like leading change, or making recommendations to the boss. But it’s also good for delicate issues like managing diversity and inclusion, or giving people coaching and feedback in a way that will be received as a welcome gift. It can help bring out more of people’s creativity, or help them rekindle the passion for their work. In all, I identified 21 common leadership challenges where storytelling can help.
So you don’t think I’m naïve or overzealous about the topic, I’m not suggesting storytelling should be used in every situation. For example, if you’re trying to decide what your five-year strategy should be, what you need is a good strategist. Or if you’re trying to decide how much money to pay to acquire your biggest competitor, what you need is a good financial advisor.
But once you’ve decided what your five-year strategy is going to be, and you need the 15,000 people that work at your company to line up behind it and deliver it, now you need a good story. Or once you’ve acquired your biggest competitor, and you need the 5,000 people that work there to stay, and not quit, now you need a good story. In short, storytelling isn’t always the right tool to help you manage things; but it’s exceptional at helping you lead people.
