“Tell us another one, Howard”
Storytelling can often have a
great impact on getting a single point across or maybe when providing guidance on
workplace cultural development. I have used storytelling as a method of
providing information, guidance and even problem solving techniques throughout
my career. It works well when a leader has the right story to fit the right set
of circumstances.
All of the stories I used
during mostly problem solving situations
came from adventures that took place during real life situations over the
tenure of my career. Many of them were told over and over again as there was
fitting examples within each that made them applicable to multiple situations.
Excerpt from “There’s a Moose
in the Guard Shack”
“A great many of the
adventures took place while I was in the military. These are not war stories
mind you, but the stories of regular, everyday people involved in regular,
every day activities.”
“Most of the people I
came into contact with in the manufacturing arena had little if any military
experience, but they all could relate to the characters and the predicaments I recounted
from my time in the armed services. The people lessons that I took away from
these situations helped to make me—and those around me—better understand what
we could do to improve our lot within our organization. People, their actions
and the results of those actions are the major time consumers that fill the
majority of most management and supervision days; both good and bad people are
the real players in the continuing story of our daily adventures.”
The
adventures within “There’s a Moose…” are all true. “I was there when they took place and
often was the one to whom they took place.
Usually, they had fairly reasonable endings—some more reasonable than others.
The troubles, as Mark Twain would have called them, taught me more than I would
have ever learned in a management or supervision class tucked away somewhere on
a college or university campus, or in a two-day seminar taught by the elite
presenters of such material.”
As I’ve said before, “There’s
a Moose” is exactly that—stuff happens and stuff gets solved—a common sense
approach from my experiences over a career in leadership.
“Every time I had the
occasion to tell this particular story when making a point, the first comment
out of one particular listener’s mouths was, “So, that’s why?” I would simply
respond, “Yes, that’s why I always back into a parking space - combat parking!”
The young man (Warren Sanford) was pretty quick to catch on to concepts and I
hired him twice as a matter of fact.”
When you start off with: “Guys, let me tell you a story,” you have
to be wary and insure the story is appropriate, factual and meets the current
need. Watch out and don’t be sucked into telling stories just to captivate your
audience. That same young man I mentioned above would, when he saw the end of a
staff meeting looming just around the corner, murmur from his seat at the table:
“Howard, tell us a Moose Story!” I figured out just as quick as he had figured
out that I used storytelling as a way of making a point that this would delay
the inevitable onset of his work requirements resuming. Be sure that you’re not
drug into the alluring aspect of storytelling just for the entertainment
factor.
Here’s
more from another source on this subject from Suzanne Bates @CEOCoachBates.
Give it a look also. http://www.myarticlearchive.com/articles/6/152.htm
“Managers go to classes, read books and try to
learn from other manager’s success, all in an effort to be a good leader.
They try to mold employees into what they perceive to be the perfect successful
worker. What they don’t realize is that by persuading and telling people
how to behave, they are actually alienating everyone. Instead of telling
people how to behave, you can show them how by telling a story.
Continuing:
“You can use storytelling regularly as a technique
to motivate and inspire people with stories about others who’ve done a good
job. This recognition or appreciation will allow your audience to relate to the
“characters” in your story, and they will want to be the hero or subject
of the next story.”
