using organisational storytelling as a creative leadership strategy

7/04/2008

8th International Creativity Conference Greenwich, England,

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Using Organisational Storytelling as a

Creative Leadership StrategyTeresa S. Welsh,

[email protected]

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“Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience… They are the currency of human contact.” Screenwriter and author Robert McKee (1997)

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.” Theologian Robert McAfee Brown (1920-2001)

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Why is Storytelling Important?

Storytelling is an integral part of human nature

Learning to use storytelling in a purposeful way is an effective leadership strategy

Storytelling can be used to capture and transmit organisational knowledge

Storytelling can facilitate collaboration and stimulate creativity.

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Why is Storytelling Important?

Stories are: Memorable – mental images

triggered by stories tend to stick Providers of context, stories

increase accurate & meaningful knowledge transfer

Related to visualization, a powerful teaching tool

Effective learning strategy: The greater the number of senses that we engage and

the greater the interactivity, the greater the learning and retention rate (Edgar Dale, 1946)

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Narrative Theory Man is Homo narrans (man the storyteller)2

Humans are narrative beings

Human rationality is determined by “inherent awareness of narrative probability,

what constitutes a coherent story, and their constant habit of testing narrative

fidelity, whether the stories they experience ring true with stories they know in their lives.” 3

[2] Walter R. Fisher (1987). Human Communication as Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason, Value, and Action. Columbia: University of South Carolina. [3] Walter R. Fisher (1985). "The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning." in Journal of Communication 35.Autumn. pp. 74-89.

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How was information collected, stored, & retrieved

before writing? Collected, stored in human brain

Passed down by oral tradition

Used mnemonics: Pictures Knots, beads,

Song or rhythm

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Cave Art, Lascaux, c. 40,000 BC May be Related to Oral

Tradition

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Oral Tradition: Iliad & Odyssey

Epic stories of the Greek/Trojan War of about 1200 BC

Passed down through oral tradition during centuries of illiteracy

Written down c 800 BC Attributed to Homer Thought to be myth until

1870s - Schliemann found ruins fitting Homer’s description

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Storytelling in Organisations In The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling (2005),

Denning emphasized role of storytelling as an effective, creative leadership tool

“The choice for leaders in business and organisations is not whether to be involved in storytelling - they can hardly do otherwise - but rather whether to use storytelling unwittingly and clumsily – or intelligently and skillfully”

“Management fads may come and go, but storytelling is a phenomenon that is fundamental to all nations, societies, and cultures, and has been so since time immemorial”

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What roles can storytelling play in an organisation?

Capturing tacit knowledge Preserving organizational history Training new & existing org

members Sharing & managing knowledge Building organizational culture Instilling organizational values Facilitating organizational change.

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What are the categories of stories in organisations?

Stories about other people Stories about the work itself Stories about the organization Stories as social bonding Stories as signals Stories about the past Stories about the future Stories about life itself Stories about oneself and identity Electronic storytelling (Prusak 2001)

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From Information Management to Knowledge

Management Data = symbols Information = data

+ meaning Knowledge = useful

collection of information

Wisdom = understanding

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Origins of DIKW Hierarchy In his Futurist article, Cleveland cites T.S.

Eliot as the person who suggested the DIKW hierarchy. Cleveland names it "the T.S. Eliot hierarchy".

In 1934 Eliot wrote in "The Rock":Where is the Life we have lost in

living?Where is the wisdom we have lost in

knowledge?Where is the knowledge we have lost

in information?

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Knowledge Management

KM is interdisciplinary, primarily between information science and business management.

Emphasizes the recording and sharing of human knowledge and experience within an organisation.

InformationScience

BusinessManagement

KM

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In mid 1990’s, there came a realization that much organisational knowledge resides in humans and is not written, but tacit. With that realization, a new field developed known as “knowledge management” or KM.

According to KM Glossary (2007), KM is the "systematic process of finding, selecting, organizing, distilling and presenting information in a way that improves an employee's comprehension in a specific area of interest."

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KM is about the way organisations create, capture and re-use knowledge to achieve organisational objectives

Knowledge is created in heads of people, captured by putting it on paper entering into a computer

system or simply remembering.

By Bill Waterson

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Scholarly Literature of KM & Storytelling

1. What is the publication pattern of KM & storytelling in the scholarly business/management literature over the past decade?

2. What are the core journals that published articles on this topic?

3. What dissertations have been published on this topic?

(Welsh, Wright, 2006)

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1. What is the publication pattern of storytelling and KM, 1995-

2005? 83 core articles

identified

1995-1999 -19 (23%) published

2000-2005 - 64 (77%) published

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1995-99 2000-05

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2. What core journals published articles on storytelling & KM?

Journal of Organizational Change Management

Journal of Management Inquiry

Organization Studies

Emergence: Complexity and Organization

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3. What dissertations or thesis have been published on this topic?

Landrum, Nancy E. 2000. A quantitative and qualitative examination of the dynamics of Nike and Reebok storytelling as strategy, Ph.D., New Mexico State Univ.

Astle, Marilyn M. 2001. Reconstructing work on the Web: Collaborative online inquiry and storytelling with Canadian women entrepreneurs, Ph.D., Fielding Graduate Institute

Masterton, Simon J. 2001, The Virtual Participant: Story telling in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment, Ph.D., Open University (United Kingdom).

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O'Neil, Vanessa J. 2002. Evaluating storytelling as a method for training at Wisconsin Electric-Wisconsin Gas Company: A case study, Ed.D., Cardinal Stritch Univ.

Arnette, Betsy A. 2003. Story as an approach for facilitating a KM innovation, Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State Univ.

Tyler, Jo Anne, 2004. Strategic storytelling: The development of a guidebook for HRD practitioners implementing storytelling as a business strategy for learning and knowledge transfer, Ed.D., Columbia Univ. Teachers College.

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Oker, Garry. 2005. Storytelling information management system (STIMS). M.A., Royal Roads University (Canada).

Maury, Mary D. 2005. The development of a business ethics curriculum module emphasizing values and storytelling, Ed.D., St. John's University School of Education, Human Services.

Ward, Maria S. 2006. Omoshiroi: An appreciative narrative about quality circles in the Toyota production system, Ph.D., University of Kentucky.

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Stovall, Steven A. 2007. Gathering around the organizational campfire: storytelling as a way of maintaining and changing for-profit organizational cultures, Ph.D., Antioch Univ.

Ugboajah, Pele R. 2007. Narrative as influence: a Delphi study of storytelling as entrepreneurial leadership best practice, Ph.D., Capella University.

Copeland, Angela D. 2007. Organizational storytelling: the creation, maintenance, and projection of stellar reputations, despite negative images of service, Ph.D., Howard University.

Victor, Allen F. 2007. Stories of success: Narrative communication themes and the direct selling industry, M.A., University of Texas, Arlington.

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Storytelling as a Creative Leadership Strategy

When knowledge is shared and used, it leads to more knowledge creation (KIT Institute).

Storytelling has re-emerged in modern times as an effective strategy for capturing and communicating tacit knowledge, for problem-solving, for inspiring creativity and innovation.

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How can one develop creative leadership skills?

Have a vision; communicate that vision to others

Develop and demonstrate ethical values, both professionally and personally

Know your field; be well-organized and prepared Be cooperative, flexible; learn new, diverse skills Be confident, willing to take a risk; try something

new Be committed to professional development -

take classes, workshops, seminars on leadership Mentor others; encourage others to develop

professionally

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Show up on time [50% rule for success]

Show up on time, follow through, do what you say you will [75% rule for success]

Show up on time, follow through, strive for excellence; do your best on any assigned tasks or projects [95% rule for success]

(Sara Hook, Indiana Library Federation Annual Conference 2002)

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Use storytelling, humour, and visuals to communicate

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“Everyone visualizes whether he knows it or not. Visualizing is the great secret of success…. We all possess more power and greater possibilities than we realize and visualizing is one of the greatest of

these powers.”Genevieve Behrend, author of Your Invisible Power

(1881-1960)

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Visualization

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Visualization Exercises

Where do you see yourself one year from now? Visualize yourself being productive, doing something that makes you feel happy and fulfilled.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? What contributions would you like to make to your field?

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Recommended Texts

Brown, J.S., et al. 2004. Storytelling in organizations: why storytelling is transforming 21st century organizations and management. Elsevier Science & Technology Books.

Denning, S. 2005. The leader’s guide to storytelling: mastering the art and discipline of business narrative. John Wiley & Sons.

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Thank you for your attention.

Questions?

using organisational storytelling as a creative leadership strategy

Education

signals stories

organization stories

past stories

future stories

people stories

categories of stories

organisational storytelling

storytelling important