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Communicating Change by Leadership Inspiration



Part II

Communicating Change by Leadership Inspiration

People often refute that business shouldn’t be about stories but about facts and figure, about rational analysis and objectivity, rather than about emotions and subjectivity. Probably it should be when it comes to taking important decisions. But once decisions are taken, the biggest challenge lies in changing the mindsets of people to adhere to the decision and in igniting the action that is needed to make the decision real.
Storytelling is a highly effective tool to tackle those challenges, because our brains are built this way. Research shows that storytelling evokes a strong neurological response. Our brain produces the stress hormone Cortisol during the tense moment in a story, which allows us to focus, while the human, emotional factor releases Oxytocin, the feel-good chemical that promotes connection and empathy. Other neurological research teaches us that a happy ending to a story triggers the limbic system, to release dopamine which makes us feel more hopeful and optimistic.
Today in the name of efficiency, leaders are overlooking conversation and thus storytelling as an important and useful method of communication. In a world of email, text messaging, and other instant communication tools, the emphasis is on just getting the information out there, and less on the way people learn and make sense of the information they do receive. This is a big mistake.
Conversation is the most powerful tool in a leader’s toolkit–for growth, leadership, and definitely for change. It’s also one of the most undervalued and as a result under used. Storytelling is a key component of conversation.
Power-points or corporate talks do not have a viral effect. Stories do. I remember my Manager narrating the story of a Senior Leader (from his previous organization) during a strategic session with the top management. The story was about the SL taking a dive in the pool in his housing community, every single day of the year, summer and winter. The SL called his story the Ice breaker story.


Although the story was a very concrete one, it also symbolized the entrepreneurial strategy of the company and the attitude everyone in the company had to adopt, i.e. taking a plunge, facing fear and doing it anyway. Since that strategic day ‘doing an Ice breaker’ became a common expression, a corporate narrative to challenge people on their behavior.
(This is Part II of the series Organizational Change through the Art of Story & Story-telling)

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