Leveraging Storytelling for Effective Organisational Culture and Mindset Change

Imagine your organisation standing at a crossroads. Here, Progress Road crosses Tradition Street. So, which to follow? Luckily, you can wield the power of storytelling to combine the two into, if you will, a path to change and growth.

Changing organisational culture or mindsets can lead to two opposing forces. On one side is the way things are done. On the other, corporate change ambitions.

For example, a leader may look to change the team's composition or integrate a new technology like AI. Often, such initiatives face resistance and conflict with existing corporate culture.

Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools companies and organisations can wield to solve such conflicts and create positive, lasting change.

The power of stories

From explaining to a co-worker how traffic was on the way to work to telling a friend or partner about your day in the evening, work stories surround us every step of our day. What they say and how they are told help create our understanding of who and what we are, individually and collectively, in a work setting.

For companies, storytelling is a “soft force” that can embed or transform organisational culture. This does not happen through mandates or policies but through the power of narratives that resonate, inspire, and mobilise. In this way, storytelling also helps change the mindset of company members.

We suggest a short experiment. Imagine that you wanted someone to understand what your company does and why. That explanation exemplifies how you see your company and job. At work, we constantly share stories about what is happening and why. In that way, these stories reflect and reinforce the organisational culture and values.

Two paths to corporate culture change through storytelling

With the above in mind, changing the narrative of our stories at work can contribute to successful culture changes. The stories that employees exchange are powerful, reflecting and reinforcing the existing – or desired - culture.

When using storytelling as a tool to achieve organisational culture change, there are generally two paths open.

One is to replace existing old stories with new ones that are markedly different and embody desired values and norms. This may be a faster approach. It may encounter more significant resistance. If repeated often, it will likely lead to confusion and dissatisfaction.

The other approach favours amending existing stories and introducing gradual changes. This approach is slower and often requires a more carefully planned process. Benefits include less resistance and a greater sense of continuous corporate culture and values.

Each approach has benefits, so leaders must consider their goals and how to wield storytelling to choose the best approach.

How to be successful with storytelling

Stories and their impact will invariably depend on the sender. The one quality more important than any other is that the storyteller must appear authentic. In addition, when talking about organisational changes, the audience's reaction will depend on seeing a clear connection between the storyteller, their values, and the proposed changes the story is about. In short, you must be authentic.

Other important points include:

• Leadership and employee protagonists in the stories.

• Clear path from the cultural past toward a new culture.

• Appeal to both rational and emotional aspects of the audience.

• Theatrical elements for memorability.

• Creating a cascade of stories across the organisation.

Read more about culture change here and here.

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