the power of storytelling: developing the brand called you€¦ · the power of storytelling:...

The Power of Storytelling: Developing the

Brand Called YOU

Bonnie Richley, MSODA, PhD AVP, Department of Human Resources

Assistant Professor, Department of Organizational Behavior

Case Western Reserve University

© Bonnie Richley, PhD

Agenda Understanding the power of storytelling Creating and delivering your story that highlights and

markets your personal brand and how this concept applies to your team, department, and organization

Understanding how storytelling relates to networking Action steps to strengthen your brand through

storytelling


What’s your story? Discuss this in pairs for 5 minutes


We all live in organizations filled with stories

If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the

stories. If you want to change a culture, change the stories.

The stories we tell literally make our world.


Why stories? Imagine, in one global day, the pages of prose turned, plays performed, films

screened, the unending stream of television comedy and drama, 24-hour print and broadcast news, bedtime tales told to children, barroom

bragging, back fence internet gossip, humankind’s insatiable appetite for stories. Story is not only our most prolific art form but rivals all activities

–work, play, eating, exercise – for our waking hours. We tell and take stories as much as we sleep – and even then we dream. Why? Why is so

much of our life spent inside stories? Because as critic Kenneth Burke tells us, stories are equipment for living.

Day after day [we use stories to] see an answer to the ageless question Aristotle posed in Ethics: How should a human being lead his/her

life? Robert McKee, Story, 1997

Stories provide a path. © Bonnie Richley, PhD

Today I want to challenge you to think of your work in the

field of HR in a very different way…that of a storyteller with a

powerful and unique brand.


Why? Because at the heart of our work is to build relationships that matter. This is the game changer…understanding who we are (i.e., our brand -- what we stand for, the value we create, what we promise to deliver) and really getting to know others (i.e., what matters to them). This moves us away from our work being viewed as transactional to relational.

What would change if this happened?


Storytelling = Real relationships "In organizations, real power and energy is generated

through relationships. The patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important

than tasks, functions, roles, and positions." —Margaret Wheatley


Your story represents your brand

It signifies what is important to you It gives meaning to your life It encompasses all of your experiences from your past

(positive/negative influences), present (what you are doing and with whom), and future hopes (where you are headed)

Your story influences all of those with whom you come in contact…for better or worse.

Stories are the primary vehicle for true connection.


What story have you been telling about you, your work, your team, your organization?

Have you consciously created multiple stories to tell?

Do you have an old story that you want to replace with an exciting new story…the story of the true you? A new story about the meaning of your work, your team, and organization?


Your new story: What is needed Passion

What matters? Authenticity

Presenting the real you Focus

Purpose embedded in the larger story Crafting the narrative

Who is involved in the story? What sort of action takes place? Why does it matter?

Telling Finding your storytelling voice And…


“So what is asked of us, the tellers of the new story, is our voice and our courage.”

Margaret J. Wheatley


The best way to let others know about your brand is by telling your

story.

Behind every great brand is a great story.

Sharlene Sones

Storytelling and your brand


CEO of Me, Inc. It's this simple: You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand.

There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way to

create the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.

Tom Peters


Marketing you, your team, etc.

Our personal brand – what we say, how we say it, and what we want others to

remember about us – is what will set us apart from everyone else.

What are the stories you’ve been telling about you, your team, organization?


What would you say are the attributes of their personal brands?

Their brands are actually the stories you tell about their product.


Your top brands Who are your top three brands? Why did they make your top 3 list?

What do they represent to you? What makes them marketable? What are their unique qualities? What links them to your personal brand?


Creating the Brand Named “You”

We are all the chief branding officers of our own personal brands. We have the power to determine and control our own reputation, whether through our actions at the workplace or through what we decide to Tweet. We are able to create our own sense of distinctiveness, trust and confidence. In every environment, from the workplace to the Web, people make choices that affect their personal brand — whether it is who to work with (and who to avoid), who to follow, who to "friend", or what special message to share in 140 characters.

How you manage your personal brand in any of these mediums will determine how others view you — and ultimately shape your career and your life. Ron Ashkenas, Define your personal brand (2010)

Every successful company has a brand. Should you be any different?


Critical skill Central to the concept of marketing your personal

brand is the ability to communicate exceptionally in all venues: informal, formal, verbal and written communication. Even the briefest of emails becomes significant when viewed from this perspective. It is the ability to market your brand in various

storytelling forms.


Building your story Beginning Middle End

• Set the scene • Establish the

characters

• Something takes place such as an event or experience (e.g., conflict, success, failure)

What happened? What was the outcome (e.g., what you learned, etc.)

Conveyed with passion, emotion, and truth!


Memorable Brands signal: Functional benefits Emotion Positive impact Alignment Uniqueness The brand is a promise of the

value you'll receive. Tom Peters


The stories you tell reverberate throughout the organization through networks both formal and informal.

Be aware that your networks are also

telling your story.


Networking and your brand All of our work is impacted by the relationships we

intentionally choose to create everyday. Our brand, how we tell our stories, either connects or disconnects us

from others. And…no one works alone. Bonnie Richley

Networking is the art of building relationships before

you need them. Darling, 2003


Social Networking: Key terms

Networking (the process) – the building and nurturing of personal and professional relationships to create a system or chain of information, contacts, and support. (DeJanasz, S. (2002) Interpersonal Skills in Organizations, p. 192)

Networks are a means to achieve goals that otherwise cannot be attained (Flap, 2001)

Social Capital (the outcome) – the value that comes from knowing who, when, and how to coordinate through various contacts within and beyond the firm. (Thompson, L. (2000) Making the team: A guide for managers, p. 175)

Social Capital consists of the number of people in a network, their

willingness to lend support, and their ability to do so. (Bourdieu, 1980)


Social Networking: Key terms STRONG TIES – A relative, friend, neighbor, or co-worker that the

central person sees often, and interacts with on a frequent bases (Crowell, 2003)

Utility: Facilitate higher levels of cooperation and the transfer of complex knowledge

Formed: Usually forged when relationships are critical to both sides and build over long periods of time

Hallmark: Tend to possess the same information and connections as the central person. Have a high frequency of interaction.

WEAK TIES – People to whom the central person is marginally

connected and has little contact with (Granovetter, 1974) Utility: rounding up handy knowledge and expertise Formed: Extensive and informal relationships Hallmark: Tend to provide connections to diverse resources in unrelated

or unfamiliar arenas. Have a low frequency of interaction.


Beginning with YOU! All successful networking begins with how well

you know yourself. You simply cannot network successfully if you do

not know how to market yourself. Know yourself, know your brand, know how to

tell your stories. 3 key strengths when getting to know others? 3 key weaknesses when getting to know others?


Personal network A professional network is the set of relationships

critical to ones ability to get things done, get ahead, and develop personally and professionally Task oriented contacts Career development relationships Social ties/relationships

What patterns characterize your network? Is it aligned with your objectives? Can it be improved?

Who have you been telling your story to and how often?


Practice telling my

story/brand


Effective delivery of your brand through networking

Dimensions of effective Networks: • Incorporate different kinds of people

(diversity) • Incorporate different types of relationships • Provide links to multiple networks • Developing multiple stories for different

venues anchored in your real self


Thoughts going forward: The life of a story Stories reveal themselves over time Clarity or knowing the story is a recursive process You must listen to the story, tell it to others early on to

refine or make sense of the story Giving voice to your story is telling it to yourself as well Stories take time; leave your story for awhile and then

come to it again; it will tell you new things Ask others to talk with you about your story; new aspects

of your story will emerge through conversation and fresh perspective

Create a storytelling circle © Bonnie Richley, PhD

Thoughts going forward: Your stories and why they matter Purpose (i.e., your three stories):

1) What do you love to do? What are you good at? – Highlights skills, areas of interest and expertise. 2) What are you passionate about and why? Highlights your values, underlying strengths/skills and insight about your worldview. 3) How do you want to make an impact in your life and for others? Why is this significant to you? Highlights leadership, values, ability to contribute to others and your greater vision. The ability to create a compelling vision is essential to all leaders.


Thoughts going forward: Other stories

Building your new stories: A time when you learned something new A unique experience that shaped your life or helped you to learn about yourself and/or others

A time when you experienced success A time when you experienced failure

Something you are excited about learning or experiencing Something beyond work…passions, hobbies, etc.


And a few more to consider… People don’t really buy a product, service, or idea, they

buy the story that’s attached to it. Your brand is far more than just a name, a logo, or a

tagline; it’s the stories that people tell about you. Storytelling is like fortune-telling. The act of choosing

a certain story determines the probability of future outcomes. Michael Margolis


Closing Consider what you want to most take with you going forward about telling

your story. Take a minute to write several ideas

about the powerful new story for you, your team, and your organization.

34 © Bonnie Richley, PhD


Tell your story, change the world.

Bonnie Richley

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