Last week I had to thank the leader of a non-government organisation for his contributions over the past five years. But I had to do it in such a way that it motivated the 150 volunteers and leaders present and get their buy-in for the road ahead. I decided to use stories. Do you have a year-end function where you need to talk to your team? Is there an annual leadership meeting on the horizon? What does one say in difficult times when businesses and markets are under pressure? Why not scrap the lectures and the slides with the statistics and tell a story instead?

Find the main ideas
 

First, I stopped and thought about the main achievements of the group under this person’s leadership. I clustered these under three headings and then thought back on our journey together. I know that stories help us to understand, hold and order information. We all have a dominant story, and only hear the “facts” that resonate with this story. The other facts we ignore, forget or deny.  I was looking for the places where this person carried our alternative story. For leaders the implications are huge. If we as leaders can change the dominant storyline people start to see and hear other “facts”.

Leaders tell the stories of turn-arounds before they happen. They see the renewal before it shows. Through stories they can move organisations and groups out of survival into thriving. This person did that during critical times and I wanted to honour him for that.

Find stories that illustrate

Secondly, I chose three stories that illustrate his commitment to values and certain themes. I prepared these stories. My preparation meant that I reconstructed the stories in such a way that people who were not there could imagine themselves in these situations. I got my intention clear. It was important to understand the audience and know where they were at that moment. I had to have a clear idea about where I think they must be. Then I asked myself: “What do they need to hear to bring them forward?” With this in mind I started recalling experiences and stories that were associated with their NGO and that challenged their positions.

If I wanted to foster new attitudes or competencies I could also seek out examples of those and talk about them. Stories help us to illustrate what success looks like and show the listeners how we expect to get there.

Tell an honest story

Standing in front of the microphone I tried to tell the stories as honestly as possible – without shaming people in the process. I told the stories with just enough self-depreciating humour. We are all storytellers. I tried to be myself and communicate in a natural way, knowing that it is the story that carries the moment and not my fluent presentation. 

I conveyed my personal experience and what the past five years have meant to me. I did this by telling three stories of my biggest learnings under his leadership. This illustrated how he was instrumental in my growth, but also helped the audience to see the main focus of this organisation. Sharing the journey in this way highlighted why our mission still matters, even in these times.

I was relieved when people were really listening, nodding their heads and laughing at my subtle jokes. That made me relax.

Storytelling leaders

By telling stories rather than lecturing or teaching I helped people to also reflect on where they were and to personally re-connect to their work and roles as leaders. Storytelling changes leaders from distant, one-dimensional people to engaging real persons. 

Stories are one of the most valuable tools leaders have in times of uncertainty. What we are going through today becomes tomorrow’s stories. “Recession survival stories” will be told over and over again.  Also be a good listener. The stories you need are told everywhere through the course of every day. Listen to what people are telling you. Their stories show what is important and what we value. When we as leaders can hear where others feel stuck and we can help them loosen up by telling alternative stories. 

Nico uses his artistic skills and conceptual thinking to develop people’s ideas and to create and illustrate presentations. He is also available to audit existing presentations. For examples of his illustrations – see this newsletter. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .