Building organizational culture with same-moment storytelling

A long time ago, people used to gather around fires and caves, telling stories that helped explain the mysteries of the world and the longings of the heart.?

Eventually, we evolved to the blue-green glow of a mechanical box, filled with pictures and sounds that somehow knew exactly how to make us laugh and cry.?

When I was a kid – and even as I was raising my own babies – entire communities would gather around their televisions at the same time. It was an era where 9/8 CENTRAL still meant something significant – because you knew that while you were watching Family Ties as your last-act-before-bed moment, your cousin in Illinois had just finished cleaning the kitchen from dinner and was doing mental math to figure out if he had time to shower, watch Family Ties, and squeeze in his last 10 Algebra problems due in tomorrow's first period class (5, if you count cheating on the odd numbered questions that were already answered in the back of the Saxon math book).??

Just last week, I confessed to my kids how I missed this collective story time – a time when we'd all gather around the television, knowing if we missed our one chance to catch the show, we'd be locked out forever to a potential culture-shifting moment.?

Today, it's just all. . . different.?

We might watch the same shows as our friends, but something's missing when we're not doing it together.

[What is that "something missing"? Lemme introduce my little ol' friend science to help me hypothesize. . . ]

Stories activate our mirror neurons. These are the neurons that allow us to mimic what we're seeing, to feel and empathize with others, and to understand – with near physical sensation – what it must be like to experience the very thing we're observing.?

(If you've ever watched a soccer game and found your leg starting to move into kick motions – those are your mirror neurons in full activation mode.)?

The powerful thing about this is that scientists have studied the brains of people who are watching movies or reading stories at the same exact time, and they've found that even when we're watching or listening to a story in a different location, the same emotional centers of our brains light up at the same time, in the same exact way.?

We're feeling the same things, experiencing the same reactions, desiring the same outcomes, and it's all hard evidence that stories sync us up in profound ways.?

Knowing this, it makes me wonder: ?Is it possible that we feel so disconnected and so divided because we are no longer participating in collective, same-time, same-day, same-moment storytelling??

We can go deep into Alice's wonderland with this question, but to keep it simple (just for today), I think this question becomes really, really relevant for business leaders who? are working hard to build strong culture.?

If everyone is coming into work, head down, siloed at their desks. . .?

working on different projects?

focusing on different goals

answering to different metrics

caring about different milestones. . .?

What is bringing them together??

In the golden days, we had fires and caves, radios and televisions, to do some of this heavy lifting for us. We were immersed in the same, homogeneous narratives, so even when everything else felt different, the shared time-space continuum of story brought us together.?

But not so today.?

Our story-designed brains have become fractured from our communities, and this is (maybe) because our mirror neurons aren't kicking in as often as they should – leading us towards less empathy, less kindness, less unity, less shared goodness.?

So for today, just ask yourself this: What stories am I telling that are collectively shared and experienced – in real time?? If my team were to gather around the invisible water cooler, what stories would they be sharing – and how would those stories help them mirror the culture I want to build??

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I'm Lindsay Hotmire, and I partner with small business owners, coaches, and consultants who want to build strong brands and even stronger cultures. Through clarity coaching, brand positioning, and story strategy, my clients learn how to boldly step into their calling, chase new endeavors, increase revenue, and grow their impact. Learn more at storyhousefifteen.com.