Issue 14 - January 27th 2025

I invite you to consider storytelling when...

...you reach the end.

One of my favourite topics as a mentor is Change Management. Change is happening all the time, literally everywhere. Yet many of my mentees feel helpless when asked to manage change. How can the Troubadour help?

Stories are all about change. Without any difference between start and ending, there would be no story. But how to get from start to end? The Troubadour would say: Just start at the ending and work yourself back to today (Stephen Covey framed it with "Always begin with the end in mind.").

What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.

T.S. Eliot

Great stories and successful change management share a common structure: they honor the past, embrace the journey, and celebrate the future. Here’s how you can approach leading change with the wisdom of The Troubadour:

?? 1. Acknowledge the Loss of the Old Chapter:

Every new beginning marks the end of something valuable. As you introduce change, recognize the importance of what’s being left behind. Honor the status quo and empathize with the pain of its loss. The more meaningful the past, the more powerful the start of your new chapter.

?? 2. Embark on the Journey:

Change is a journey—filled with uncertainty, challenges, and growth. Like the protagonist in a story, your team might not have all the answers upfront. That’s okay. What matters is maintaining focus on the vision of the new reality while navigating twists and turns along the way.

?? 3. Celebrate the Transformation:

At the end of the journey, reflect on how far you’ve come. Celebrate the lessons learned and the growth achieved. This retrospective will equip your team with confidence and resilience for the next chapter.

?? Your Role as a Change Leader:

? Honor the Past: Acknowledge the value of what’s being left behind.

? Craft the Vision: Paint a compelling picture of the future.

? Guide the Process: While you don’t need to predict every step, but you have to set clear timelines and keep the team aligned toward the end goal.

Change is never linear, and uncertainty is part of the process. But with empathy, clarity, and perseverance, you can lead your team through transformation and build something extraordinary together. You can build a great story worth remembering.

Every ending is a new beginning. This issue marks the end of The Troubadour newsletter and - the beginning of the time when I am putting together ideas for my next posts. Let me know what you have liked and what you would be interested to read next.

About The Troubadour

Storytelling can be a powerful tool - even for those of us who are not professional writers. There are numerous books, videos and classes on the subject. Typically, they provide insights on HOW to draft and present a story.

The Troubadour is about WHEN to leverage storytelling.

The use cases and examples presented in the newsletters are all based on my personal experience as someone (a manager) who has the responsibility to archive a business outcome by leveraging a team of humans. Although telling stories usually was not something I was compensated for, I found the techniques superior to many other means of communication.

The Troubadour is about storytelling as a MANAGEMENT TOOL.

Storytelling is often taught by journalists, actors or others who were professionally trained to excel in this art. What I am sharing are my own observations, lessons learned and numerous sources reviewed on the subject.

The Troubadour is based on my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS A MANAGER.

Do you like The Troubadour? Please forward to anyone who could be interested.

About Me

Storytelling has been part of my professional life for more than 20 years. Although I was never trained to become a professional writer (or narrator), relying on stories to communicate better has always felt natural to me.

Besides of blogs and articles, I published a novel (The Lion of Ishtar) which is available in book stores with the ISBN?9783757809959 and 9783757881603 (Book 1 and 2).

Outside of my day job, I am also coaching with special focus on storytelling.

About the Logo: For centuries, troubadours were the dominant tool of mass communication. Their ability to (select &) present content ultimately determined their income (and survival). Troubadours were masters of storytelling.