In this new world of COVID-19, it’s hard not to give in to the tunnel vision that our beleaguered brains crave. For you mission-driven leaders up to your eyeballs in the stimulus package, crisis communications, furloughs and lay-offs, not to mention managing the dynamics of the home office, there’s not much room to consider anything else beyond immediate survival.
But as humans, and especially mission-driven ones, our aim is not to simply survive—we want to thrive and make the whole world better while we’re at it. So, even as you are taking all the necessary practical steps to remain solvent, don’t forget to keep storytelling high on the list as one of your most effective safeguards and leadership tools.
The media will get out many of the scary and controversial ones and a few of the uplifting ones, and social media will offer endless variety in every category, but it’s up to you to tell your story to the people you care about and want to influence—the challenges you and your employees and constituents are facing and how you are overcoming them.
Leading the Way to Survival
It’s a scientific fact that we all need those stories. As a study published in Nature Communications puts it, storytelling solves for challenges of not knowing how to cooperate, “a central problem of biology.” "In other words," the study says, "it is not enough to know how to act in a given situation; individuals need to know that others also know how to act." And since antiquity, the way we deeply and immediately internalize these complex lessons, values and norms is through stories. As an article in Harvard Business explains, stories stick in a way that no other information does.
That's another reason why, even in normal times, successful storytelling lies at the core of successful organization. Those who do a good job of telling their story connect with people about what they do in a way that stirs empathy, offers guidance and calls people to action. Their stories align with their values and purpose and differentiate them from others. When crisis hits, those foundational connections form a life raft. They already have a cooperative community and the opportunity to engage and lead their way out of the tight spot through more storytelling.
Keeping Us Connected and Inspired
Finally, at a time when we've been suddenly and unexpectedly disrupted, when uncertainty haunts our dreams, when we've been cut off physically from all but our immediate circle, stories let us know that we aren't alone. As I continue to help tell the stories of my clients, I'm amazed at how deeply relevant they are, even those completed prior to the pandemic. Like the Rethink Outside project focused on why everyone should have the right to a healthy community and getting outdoors; or the University of Washington School of Nursing's inspiring work to change the future of healthcare; or the stories for an upcoming anniversary book about the people-centered values that have made Goodfellow Bros. a successful company for the past 100 years.
So, if you need to increase employee morale, fundraise, rally people, form a partnership, or (maybe most importantly) lead, don't forget about that supremely powerful tool: the story. It’s that bit of collaborative magic we all need right now.
Graphics Credit: Internet Archive Book Images