Using Storytelling by Company's Management as an Effective Communication Strategy - Essay Example

Leadership & Storytelling Executive Summary Leaders act as the drivers of any organization. It is important when change is being introduced in an organization. Leaders take the responsibility of ensuring that all the stakeholders are aware and involved. Change can lead to success or failure of an organization. Therefore, it is important for those in charge to ensure that the best communication method is being used to pass information about that particular change to be one that is inspiring. There is need for leaders to employ different strategies that are going to pass the information to each and every person within an organization. One method of communication that is used by leaders to pass the information and inspire those within the organization is storytelling. It is a type of oral communication method where leaders use the stories of other people in inspiring and influencing those within the organization. In these paper are looking into a scenario where leaders are introducing a change that has a direct impact on the workers. Therefore a lot of preparation and explanation need to be given to different stakeholders (Northouse, 8). This will enable them understand the long term goal of the organization and how important the change will benefit them. For the leader to be able to influence the rest of the workers towards having the right attitude to the change, then it is important to use the success stories of other players to drive out the fear. Storytelling will give the workers the much needed information that will make them motivated and more innovative. For this case practical stories will be of great help. By using storytelling as a communication strategy, the board of directors will look at the attitude that the employees will have towards the newly introduced strategies to measure its success. Objective In this case it is important to note that workers will be full of fear they are not made to understand the importance of the changes that will take place within the organization. Therefore, there is need for the leaders to use practical example to make them see what they will gain after the implementation of the new policies. The issue that need to address in these case is to ensure that employee performance is improved within the organization. Issues related with motivation of employees within the organization will be dealt with accordingly to ensure that Jenny will make then perform better. Through storytelling, the CEO will be in a position of making the employees be motivated through telling them success related stories that will make them improve their performance. Through storytelling, the CEO will be using stories that will enable the employees see the importance of performing better within the organization and even show them the benefits that they will have in the long term. The storytelling communication strategy will be used to address issues related to employee attitude. Attitude is a key factor when it comes to employee performance. Storytelling will be used in a great deal to crop the employee culture within the organization. These communication strategy will be used in a great deal to train the employees some of the basics that will be required in the changes that will be undertaken within the organization. Through these they will be able to understand the importance of specialization, working in a team, and having the right qualifications in different jobs. Background In order to ensure that the storytelling strategy being used by an organization is effective, it is important for leaders to understand some aspects. You should ensure that the storytelling strategy is achieving its goals then she must do some of the following activities. You should understand what the experts say about the story telling strategy. This will assist you in taking the right decisions when using this form of communication. Then you should start with the message that you want to deliver to the workers. This will ensure they understand the reason as to why the story is being narrated. They will be in a position of connecting the story being told. It is important for you as a leader to mine into your own experience. This will enable you give the workers life experience that they will easily believe in and they will be motivated. When life stories will be narrated, then it will be easy for the workers to imitate what they were being told to ensure that they achieve the desired goals within the organization. This is the perfect part of using storytelling as a communication strategy. When delivering the story, it is important that you should not make yourself to be a hero (Schein, 5). This will make the workers feel comfortable and comprehend most of what they are being told. On the other part, if you make the workers feel that you are like one of them then they will be motivated more and even request to assist one another in the process. When narrating the story it will be important for you to highlight some of the struggles other organizations faced before they attained success. This should be part of the story as introduction of change has its own negative impact within the organization. The struggle part of the story will make them understand some of the problems that they will face on the course of changes that will be introduced in the organization. This will make them feel that they are part of the journey and their readiness towards handling any situation that they will be facing. You should ensure that the story is simple. This will make the story interesting and easy to follow. Simple stories in the same measure deliver the message in a manner that is easy. The explanation will not be needed for the stakeholders to comprehend what the narrator wants. Lastly, you should practice the story to ensure that all the aspects that she needs to be delivered are captured in the story. Practice will make the story look to be real. This will perfect the message that will be passed across to all stakeholders. The story will be a form of summary in the way the information will be relayed to them (Denning). You should ensure that you tell the employees on the importance of the change that will be effected within the organization. Some of the effects that will face the employees ones the changes are in place should be communicated through the stories. When telling the stories it is important for you to tell them about the importance of the organization to reduce the number of products they are dealing with and the profitability that they could have in the organization. Inform them of the fact that the 20 products will do much well than when they are dealing with 100 products. Also, let them understand that some of the employees will be moved to other areas and some effects on salaries will be felt as salary reduction may be effected. On top of that, tell them of the fact that some employees may be required to acquire new qualifications and adjust to different staff backgrounds. When narrating stories to the staff, it is important for you to highlight the importance that the changes will have on performance. Tell them that you will need to do away with those products that are not performing well in the market and instead focus on those products that are more productive and give them the much needed competency in the market. This will make them compete even more and generate more revenue. Assure them that you will ensure that they are all involved in all decisions that are taken within the organization. This will ensure that all those within the organization are supported in undertaking different functions. Give them confidence that the strategy will work. Tell them with the fact that you will be dealing with less products and those that performed well the performance will improve significantly. Key considerations Some of the principles that she will need to follow on the cause of using the storytelling strategy; Do: You should consider your audience — this will enable you choose the best details and framework through which you will resonate with your listeners. It is important for you to identify the message that you want to pass across You should find some of the inspirational experiences in your life. Don’t: You should assume that you do not have storytelling chops as all tend to have some memorable stories in our lives. You should not give yourself a starring role. You do not need to overwhelm your story with details that are unnecessary. All the above considerations are important as they will give you an opportunity to deliver the story in a manner that is effective. The considerations will enable you achieve your mission without necessarily struggling. They will enable you understand your audience and prepare your message in a manner that best fits them. In order to ensure that the storytelling strategy being used by an organization is effective, then it is important for you as a leaders to understand some aspects. For you to ensure that the storytelling strategy is achieving its goals then you must undertake the above considerations as they will be the guiding principle in the whole process (Austen, 12) Next Step After undertaking all the above preparations, it is important to gather the audience together and explain to them the plans of the organization. Make them understand what the impacts it will have to them. Therefore, there is need for you to use practical example to make them see what they will gain after the implementation of the new policies. In the course of being told about what other organizations did and how they have been able to achieve success, then the employees and other stakeholders will be able to deal with the fear. They will be in a position to see the kind of benefits that they will have in the long run. These will assist them in dealing with different situations that may arise on the process. Therefore, it is important for you to ensure that the best communication method is being used to pass information about that particular change to be one that is inspiring. There is need for leaders to employ different strategies that are going to pass the information to each and every person within an organization. These can only be achieved after all the necessary steps that involve change have been instituted. An example you can use is that of Carlos Ghosn the COE of Nissan. He is a man who has driven the company to greater heights regardless of the fact that world economy has not been doing better. He has used different tactics to ensure that employees are encouraged through the practical examples that he gave them. These actions boosted employee motivation and the attitude which led to improved performance. Recommendation For you to ensure that the storytelling strategy is achieving its goals then you must do some of the following activities. You should understand what the experts say about the story telling strategy. You should start with the message that you want to deliver to the workers. You should mine into your own experience. You should not make yourself to be a hero. You should undertake thorough preparation in a bid to ensure that the story contains all what you require. Lastly, you should ensure that all the processes of change are instituted within the organization. Work Cited Austen, H. A Tale of Storytelling: Its Allure and its Traps. Harvard Business Review, 2014. Baker, B. Use storytelling to engage and align employees around your strategic plans. Industrial and Commercial Training, 2014. Denning, S. The Leaders Giude to Storytelling. Jossey-Bass, 2nd Edition, 2011. Maldakova, L. Tacit Knowledge Sharing Through Storytelling. Business and Management, 2010. Northouse, P.G. Leadership: Theory and Practice (5th Ed), Sage Publications, 2010. Schein, E. H. Organizational Culture and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, S. Francisco, 2010. Read More