Over the years like most people who have been actively involved in their own continuous professional development and helping other people to develop in my career in HR and training I have amassed quite a library of business books.
The other day I was looking at the shelves and trying to work out why I like some books more than others.
As I scanned the titles memories of reading the books came flooding back, and I realised that the books which I had discussed enthusiastically with friends and colleagues where not the mighty tomes from the thought leaders or the dry academic volumes of my studies, they were the books that included the case studies and stories about other people and what they had done in their careers to build businesses and lead people.
The reason for this according to William Montgomery, the creator of the 10/10 leadership development and mentoriong programme, is that like most other people it is not facts and statistics that I engage with. It is the stories that explain those facts and put them into the real world are what get me enthused and motivated to put the lessons from the story into action.
Yet, as William explains although advertisers get the power of story-telling, like MasterCard and their priceless advertising campaign which focuses on creating a story around what the card makes possible for the cardholder, many business people fail to recognise the power of story-telling as a people management tool that can create employee engagement and change.
It has never been easier to be a story-teller, there are a wealth of blogging and vlogging tools available, but these can easily be misused by people who simply download everything that they are thinking about.
To work, a story must have compelling characters that people, are able to relate to, so that they make people not just think, but also feel in a way that text on a PowerPoint slide or a bar graph just cannot do.
Story-telling says Montgomery is an increasingly important skill for leaders of all types of organisations, as they strive to manage a millennial workforce that thinks much more in terms of relationships than previous generations and maintain competitive advantage.
To be effective a story requires four different things: style, truth, preparation and regardless of how it is experienced, delivery.
Story-tellers must ensure that regardless of how their story is communicated it is communicated in a way that creates a vision of the future in which the individual can see themselves having a positive experience.
William Montgomery has seen the power of storytelling first hand during his military career which culminated as navigator of HMS Ark Royal. All arms of the military use story-telling to forge connections with the history of the organisation and camaraderie amongst service personnel.
Stories that create a shared perception or understanding of a situation will, as the use of story-telling by the military demonstrates, encourage people to cooperate and share knowledge.
Gentle humour within a story can also help to alleviate stressful situations and minimise the damage that may be created by rumours and gossip.
William Montgomery has had varied and colourful career in the Royal Navy, including work as a code-breaker in Bletchley Park, an interpreter at GCHQ Cheltenham, and rising through the ranks to navigate the aircraft carrier, HMS ARK ROYAL. As a civilian he created TEN Ltd. He has developed the 10/10 leadership development and mentoring programme to turn ordinary managers into extraordinary leaders.
He is speaking about the power of story-telling as a business tool at the London HR Summit on 26 September 2018 at the Radisson Blu Hotel at Stansted Airport.
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