I was sitting around with a few friends the other night and we were all talking about the economic recession that is having a dramatic and unprecedented impact on every nation’s financial well-being. The conversation became quite animated with all of us observing that we feel overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of news about job losses, bank bailouts, and home foreclosures.

It is not just the private sector that is being slammed but the voluntary sector as well, which, according to Imagine Canada, accounts for 7.8% of our GDP, more than the automotive and manufacturing industries. Two million people are employed by nonprofit organizations, making up just over 11% of the economically active population. In tough times, in times of doubt, of fear and anxiety, in times just like these, authentic leadership seems to shine like a beacon of hope. I am not referring to here to self-help gurus, but the brilliance of potential that effective leaders help us identify, not within them but within ourselves.

“Leadership enables people to reach a vision and to exceed what they thought was possible. Leadership is essentially a transformation compound, in many ways it is a form of alchemy,” according to the authors of Made in Canada Leadership, published in 2007.

If leadership is a form of alchemy, then stories told by leaders that engage and empower surely are the essential elements in this mix.

The secret to storytelling and leadership in tough times is somewhat surprising. One would think it is about people in senior management positions telling their stories to entertain and to highlight their knowledge and, in so doing, demonstrate why they are in fact the leaders. Nothing could be further from the truth. Effective storytelling by leaders isn’t so much about speaking – it’s far more about listening.

The real life experiences that live in your organizations within volunteer, board, donor, funder, and public stakeholder groups make up your story equity. Your story equity is a rich treasure trove of meaning, impact and, yes, even innovation and creative solutions. If you are a leader within an organization that seeks to engage its stakeholders in not just riding out these tough times, but thriving in them, here are a few things you might want to consider about stories.

Stories are not:

• Data transfer. Stories create context and meaning, bringing statistics and data to life.
• Knowledge transfer. Stories fall flat when you seek to tell someone what they should know.
• A panacea. Stories aren’t a fix to all problems.

 

Stories are:

• Organic. Stories change over time, they are not static. They live and constantly take shape. A story you heard when you were 12 means something else when you hear it years later.
• Co-created. Stories are told and they are received; through the listening and through the telling meaning is created.
• Visionary. Stories, like very little else, can serve as a way for us to know ourselves better, to see the potential in ourselves, to shape our future.
• A tool. Stories are a great tool in creating engagement.

 

Leadership at its best is invisible. Really, it is more felt within each of us then measured by a title or viewed from a distance through accolades. Storytelling provides all leaders with a tool to access the experience within your organization and leverage that asset into a resilient future.

Pattie LaCroix has provided strategic leadership in crafting integrated communications and fundraising strategies to nonprofits for more than a decade. As CEO of Catapult Media she is passionate about the power of storytelling in engaging your audience and building support for your work. You can reach Pattie at www.catapultmedia.ca.