What's the Difference Between Storytelling and Being Good at Your Job?

I wish more leaders were sincerely asking this question

Photo by Will Kell on Unsplash

It’s memorable when people are profoundly human, which is why I remember this particular speaking engagement from almost twenty years ago.

The audience was cheering as I stepped off the worn, beige-carpeted, one-foot riser at the front of the room. It’s my job to make sure that attendees at a corporate event don’t notice the wear of a battered hotel stage, and leave them instead focused on their own potential in a renewed way.

I headed for the first row of white-linen tables to sit down. I was proud to have delivered some inspiration, but the mood of elation usually doesn’t last—because administrative professionals are not trained speakers, and they usually get the last word at a company meeting.

I reached for an unused dinner napkin to wipe the sweat off my forehead and to prepare myself for the next in-house speaker who would start sharing data slides, corporate jargon, and third-quarter results. A perfect, golden-brown, creme brûlée at my place setting tempted me to dig in, but part of the job as a professional speaker is to politely listen as the next presenter takes the air out of the space and lull the crowd right back into a state of message-checking, side-talking, and bathroom-breaking.

But that didn’t happen.

Motivational speaking isn’t easy. It requires a transfer of energy that burns actual calories while your audience simply consumes them. It was the CEO of this organization who stepped onstage.

As he approached the lectern, he removed his jacket, and draped it over the top. That, in itself, was unusual.

But having removed his suit coat, it was plain to see that this executive was sweating right through his clothes, the dark blue patch of his own perspiration having stained his underarms. This leader was burning calories in advance of speaking, which usually means nervousness, which usually means risk.

So now I was riveted to what was coming next.

His opening words were, “I owe all of you an apology.”

The CEO of this mortgage company stood tall in front of his most successful sales people and publicly admitted that he had succumbed to greed during the subprime mortgage meltdown. He told the story of picking up a pen, watching as he extended his hand to a blank line, and feeling his stomach clench as he penned a signature that was unjustifiable. It was just one of many endorsed contracts that he knew were unwarranted and ill-advised. He talked about losing his integrity, having contributed to the national crisis that followed, and as a result, eroded the trust of the company’s customer base and reputation in the industry.

His entire sales team had done the same, but instead of calling any of them out, he took responsibility for his own actions.

I watched him stutter, stumble, and sweat his way through a vulnerable and courageous admission. But notably, he finished by being specific about how he planned to make amends for his actions, and the guardrails he was implementing within the company to prevent over-reach in the future.

There was no slump in this man’s posture. He wasn't looking for absolution, rescue, sympathy or anyone to console him. He was sharing a self-contained story of leadership.

When you're in a leadership position, especially with the power to hire and fire, you're naturally in a position of power. Demonstrating that you're human can go a long way to make your team feel safe to share their own process, thoughts, and concerns. Telling your own stories can convey vulnerability and open up dialogue and conversation, as long as you remain cognizant of your leadership role.

A story is the sharing of a specific moment in place and time, especially one that represents a turning point, such as watching yourself sign a document that is unwarranted and knowing you’re in the wrong.

Letting your colleagues and employees see your inner struggle for integrity, your human journey, is the most influential form of storytelling that you can offer.

Unfortunately, even the most reliable usual sources are not getting storytelling right.

Storytelling is trending hard right now in the business world. It's becoming a catch-all buzzword that is being conflated with other competencies.

For example, a recent article posted in the Harvard Business Review is titled, “Create Stories That Change Your Companies Culture.”

The article details six rules for “creating stories” that they recommend leaders embrace in their effort to impact corporate culture.

The problem is, most of the examples offered in the essay of a culture-changing story, are not, in fact, stories. They’re merely descriptions of leaders doing their job with visible competency. When a high-performing professional takes observable or exemplary action, they are simply being a leader. But being a leader is completely distinct from being an effective storyteller.

As a matter of fact, some of the best leadership stories are self-aware descriptions of doing one’s job poorly.

When leaders act like leaders, as in the examples shared in the HBR article, employees will sometimes tell stories about what they saw the leader do. At the least, they will tell themselves a story about who that leader is, what values they hold, and how trustworthy they are.

Wonderful. That is well and good.

But this kind of impact depends upon visible, external action to set a mood, tone or example.

On the other hand, an effective story told by a leader is almost a reverse process. It’s an act of vulnerability that shares the leader’s inner process with the team, and conveys the humanity of the leader. It makes the leader more approachable, rather than look heroic or superior.

Leaders should, in fact, act like leaders. But leaders can also benefit from becoming competent storytellers.

As a leader, if you want to change your company’s culture for the better, let your highly competent, bold, and innovative action stand on its own merit.

And from time to time, be willing to step down from the high-bar example you set by letting your team see that you’re human, just like them, with vulnerable and authentic storytelling that shows your capacity to lead yourself with self-awareness and honesty even as you’re serving as a leader for others.

---

Saturday is Narrative Leadership Day

Paid subscribers are welcome to join us to practice storytelling that inspires others.

This week’s prompt is . . .

Share a story about a time you observed yourself doing something that you knew was a bad idea. What did you learn from the experience? And how did you avoid making the same mistake in the future?

---

Thank you for being a subscriber to Honestly Human.