Once upon a Time....

This week a very good friend shared a story of how she'd embarrassed herself and I started to talk about narratives and the stories we tell ourselves. Because often, not always, but often we have a choice in how we tell stories and the way we tell them will directly impact on how we feel (good, bad, ashamed, amused) and how others feel and respond.

So let me share a story from our very own Tammy Watchorn - The Original Change Ninja

Once upon a time there was a struggling organisation. It was a huge organisation?that was set up to serve the public?and because?of its size, complexity, risk aversion, bureaucracy?and governance?and ultimately government?policy it failed to change at a pace that the public required and seemed to get worse and worse.?

Many had tried to change things from within, with improvement projects, with IT systems, with leadership training but it only got worse and the words for change just transformed. From Change to Transformation, Agile, Innovation and Culture. Even though no one could actually define any of this, what problems needed fixing or describe a desirable end state. It was an organisation constantly stuck in the Fog but continuing to use a Paint By Numbers approach to change. Agile it was not.

But one brave soul (Tam) tried to change things, from within, creating small fires burning, providing local?teams with the means to implement improvement and change to their local services. She taught them how to keep it under the radar. She provided the tools and support that enabled them to be braver, to take (measured) risk and do good things.?But it wasn't enough for the big cheeses who wanted glamour and shiny things and a top down approach governed to death with?KPIs. And so this brave soul decided to head out like Dick Whittington to seek a new world where she could continue to provide the support, tools, learning and space for teams throughout the land to improve how they worked, enjoy what they did and deliver the outcomes the public demanded. And in the process also wrote a slightly humorous?book called The Change Ninja Handbook* about her experiences in said?organisation and which seems to be helping others do all that good stuff.**

This story is hopefully uplifting

It could have been told in a much more negative way. A doom and gloom way. The brave soul could have bleated on about no one listening or managers constantly getting in the way and blocking things or feeling like a failure for constantly being berated to a point they had no option other than to leave (as staying would have meant?pursuing?a disciplinary?against management).?

But Tam chose to use #UponATyme to tell the story, making her the hero who outfoxes the trolls and gets her happy ever after while hopefully providing some inspiration to others in similar situations.

We can often choose to tell ourselves, and others, stories in different ways. The facts remain but the narrative shifts and so does the feelings and responses. Think about the last time you grumbled about things at work. What if you told the story?with humour? With the opportunities?the crisis created? How does it feel now? How might the story be received by others??Think about the last time you were embarrassed. What if, instead, you tell the story as a joke and laugh at yourself? Tell it again as the funny story and you might find that instead of being flooded with shame you will be flooded with laughter.?

We can often choose to tell the narrative in many different ways. Try it. Give it a go. Let us know how you get on.?

*Sorry not sorry for the plug

** Recently voted as a finalist for Smart Thinking?in the Business Book Awards 2023