Storytelling and Leadership

Storytelling and Leadership

“The cosmos is indeed made of stories, not atoms. A story told… As always, life is a journey, not a destination, with stories of dots and colors with fading colors and evolving colors. A journey of dots with colors of told and untold stories of known and unknown stories. I should be known long with my stories with passing wave & time”, Robin Trehan

As a child you probably have several memories of your mother or grandmother telling you some of their famous family stories. Hearing a story being told allows you to envision the events that took place. Stories are often told with emotion, therefore, allowing you to feel the pain, happiness, or even excitement of the storyteller. By making storytelling a part of your leadership, you will be helping others without even knowing it.

A storyteller has the ability to change another person’s way of thinking. Changing a person’s way of thinking also allows for change in the way a person acts. There may be someone listening to the story that has almost given up hope on being successful, but after hearing how the storyteller made things happen, or how they handled certain situations, and it may shed some light on what could be done to achieve similar goals. Another person may be listening who has encountered problems that they can’t figure out, but by listening to the story, they may find a resolution. Storytelling is a very effective tool in leadership.

Actions can also play a big part in storytelling. Take a moment to reflect back to elementary school. Show and tell was a major event back then. Someone would bring something in and give you a story behind it. They had your complete attention, and you were interested in what they were saying. In storytelling if you reenact the events, it really catches the attention of the listener. This is a situation where actions and words go hand in hand. Anyone can just stand and talk, but lectures are less effective than storytelling. People can relate more if the stories are made to be more on a personal level. Storytelling can produce effective leadership and in turn, create more leaders.

Cosmos is indeed made of stories. I have one to tell, it is a story about…

Robin Trehan is partner at Credit Capital Funding. More information about him www.BusinessCreditfund.com