Why Your New Job Is CSO (Chief Storytelling Officer)

Where is leadership bred: in the heart or in the head?

That may modernize Shakespeare’s original question, but it’s essential to ask in an era when many leaders live by numbers, analytics, and logic (and are asking AI to boost that). In our podcast, Dr. Tanvi Gautam, senior faculty at Singapore Management University and program director of SMU Executive Development, answers with a resounding “Both!”

Tanvi found that combining head and heart-based tools unlocks leadership potential that rational approaches alone simply cannot reach. Storytelling holds the chief spot amid the heart-based tools. Here’s why:

1. Storytelling has transformative power.

There’s hard science at work here. Stories activate the whole brain. Neuroscience studies find that a story’s facts activate language and analytical areas of the brain, while other story elements light up sensory and abstract areas. In short, your tale clicks on your team’s imagination; they see themselves in it. Because they “experience” it, the key points stick. Just like a movie’s hero changes as the film progresses, your team begins to transform, too.

2. Stories help your team navigate the future fluidly.

Future fluidity is Tanvi’s term for the ability to meet and navigate the future, whether it meets our expectations or not. It’s similar to the Innovative Leadership Institute’s “future-ready” concept. The key here is preparedness. Use the age-old storytelling technique of asking “What if…” as part of your regular routine. Rehearsing radical scenarios as thought experiments primes your team to quickly pivot when disruption inevitably strikes. Add pushing your team beyond its comfort zone—by attending conferences outside their fields, reading about unrelated topics, and the like—and your What-If stories are building resilience!

3. Tales tell your mission and purpose more effectively than taglines and mottos.

Ever wonder why action movies always include some kind of origin story? They help you understand the main character’s motivation and purpose. Without his tragic origin story, for example, even an icon like Batman would just be a crazed maniac beating up people at night. So, do a little research and discover your organization’s origin story. That will reveal the deeper reasons behind your company’s mission and purpose. Knowing the human side of the business helps people get behind it and genuinely believe in the mission—far more than just having them memorize a motto.

4. Your narrative fosters deep collaboration.

Knowing your story creates a common bond between team members; they’re now sharing a mission and purpose. That in itself fosters collaboration. More importantly, that shared story invites better communication, which, in turn, opens the door to deeper conversations. Tanvi’s five areas of deep conversation are inspiration, learning, friction, strategizing, and daring. Discussing these breaks down silos and shows a common purpose, which leads to better innovation, resilience, and future fluidity.

5. Stories MOTIVATE.

This is the cumulative effect of all the points we made above. It boils down to one prime element: belief. It’s one thing to flatly work toward hitting sales goals or a 3% profit increase. It’s entirely different to know that those goals originated in the founder’s desire to eradicate hunger and malnutrition with low-cost, high-quality foods. Or knowing why you, as the leader, believe so fervently in the team’s work. It’s hard to go above and beyond for a quarterly P&L statement; it’s easy to give your all to a story you believe in.

Scan those spreadsheets. Let your eyes dart across that dashboard. Their information keeps tabs on your team’s progress. Then, sit back and continue creating your story. Share it with your team, and you’ll move your plot toward success and a happy ending!

New Forbes Article

Check out Maureen’s latest article contribution reflecting on the key themes of the 2023 International Leadership Association Global Conference. Read Cultivating Leadership for a Thriving Future here.

This article was adapted by Dan Mushalko from our podcast episode Tales from the Top: How Leaders Use Stories.

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