Titles Create Division | Stories Create Attraction

Storytelling is always given top billing on the marque during the national political season. It is easy to understand why - diverse audiences want storytellers to portend a future authored by their respective efforts and policies.

It is a searing reminder of the power of narrative whether or not we choose to run for political office. Countless leaders across sectors find themselves in similar positions - needing to find the words to communicate care, perspective, purpose, and role to a legion of talented employees and customers.

Easy enough, right?

I have yet to find narrative construction easy for the heartiest leaders or even the savviest of organizations.

Why?

So many of us have been conditioned to leverage our professional titles or noted experiences, thinking that they alone tell a story of substance, of relative standing across a proposed hierarchy of value.

It is understandable, given the general experience of academic standing through accomplished sets of obstacles meant to identify the strong, the mediocre, or the weak. Labels and titles have been a part of the fabric of our society, denoting experience, wisdom, risk tolerance, and pivots of decisiveness or chance.

While titles identify, they also denote a moat between ourselves and others.

So, when I kick off a creative coaching engagement with an individual or team or jump on stage for a keynote, I am keenly aware that the stories in the room are often on life support.

The leaders I work with and the audiences I engage with have a deep desire to understand storytelling to influence the worlds they inhabit. However, stories often lack depth because the Purpose of the story and storyteller are undefined, the Role of the storyteller in the story needs to be clarified, and the proposed Impact struggles to land the visceral punch of inspiration.

Authenticity is the ingredient - Story is the soup du jour.

Leaders must actively explore the stories that built them to this point. Not the bulleted items on a resume or dotted across a LinkedIn profile, but the stories in the crevices of the couch, those that crafted character, chiseled decision-making prowess, and those that spark an emotional response at the retelling.

Alternatively, organizations have too many stories or narratives that lack stickiness to the people behind the accomplishments.

When I work with leaders one-on-one to establish a voice for media training, brand-building, or other creative projects, I'm often struck by the elements underscored through their narratives that lack authenticity. The intention is on point, but the delivery minimizes the aspects of authenticity that create attraction.

On the other hand, organizations rely too often on prescriptive storytelling with notes of bold proclamations that merely slot their achievements alongside their competitors in the stalls of press release hell.

That's the danger of titles - we either approach or defer at the behest of a given title of those in our atmosphere.

I love coaching leaders and organizations who have the 'want' to identify and share their stories. They come into the work with a resignation - not from a platform of loss but rather acquired wisdom that their mission and vision, told authentically and without pretense, secures legions of fans.

The notion that we should neatly tuck our story into our jacket pocket robs audiences of the journey our story takes. Understanding your Purpose, Role, and the Impact you want to have will drive your storytelling choices.

Stories are rarely neat and often messy.

Friction is an author's friend.

Titles create division.

Generate narrative friction that coalesces your audiences into rabid and loyal fans.

-Rod

If you have thought about re-upping your organization's story 'game,' let's chat!