Skills for Effective Leadership: Story Telling

From Pastor Jeff's blog:

Below is a leadership lesson that I had taught many years ago. I find story telling to be a very essential and important skill to acquire. It will help us to do better as we teach our children, speak to our friends, conduct training classes, share in our care groups and in many other settings.

Do take some time to read this through and then put it into practice. It is my prayer that this lesson will help you as much as it has helped me.

Introduction

Jesus was a master storyteller. He used many parables to speak to the people.

Matthew 13:34
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.

Mark 4:2
He taught them many things by parables,

The word parable comes from two root words: throw alongside. Thus Jesus was using parables or stories, to throw alongside of the truth that he wanted to teach to the crowd.

Benefits of Story Telling

1)They Are Easy to Remember

Jesus’ stories always involves everyday common events and things that his audience can identify with; stories of wedding banquets, farmer sowing seeds, labourers in the vineyard, shepherd and sheep. These stories are culturally relevant and therefore are easy to remember and effective for communicating truth. This is especially useful for communicating vision.

2)They Help to Get Pass Human Defences

Read 2 Samuel 12:1-14 (Nathan rebukes David)

3)They Are Able to Capture Attention

A good story will involve the audience emotions, imaginations and intellect. The audience becomes participants of the story.

2 Samuel 12:5
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

Components for Successful Story Telling

(The Guru Guide: Boyett & Boyett pp 29-33 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

The greatest advocate of the leader as storyteller is the psychologist Howard Gardner. In his 1995 book Leading Minds, Gardner maintains that “a key --- perhaps the key --- to leadership … is the effective communication of a story.” In his examination of well-known and less-well-known leaders throughout history, Gardner finds that many of them distinguished themselves early in life by their ability to tell stories. “Many others make the mastery of storytelling --- whether through persuasive oratory or through well-crafted written documents --- a primary goal.” Stories, says Gardner, are a “fundamental part of the leader’s vocation.”

1)The Best Stories Address the Topic of Identity

Gardner notes that from birth, we all search for answers to a few basic questions, such as Who am I? Where did I come from? What group do I belong to and why? Where is my life going? What things in life are really true, beautiful, and good? These are questions about identity, and the most powerful stories that leaders tell are those that provide answers to questions concerning personal, social, and moral choices.

As Christians, we have the answers to all these fundamental questions to the human identity. Thus, we have the potential to be the best storytellers on the face of this earth.

Matthew 13:45-50
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.
48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.
49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous
50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 18:23
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

2) The Most Powerful Identity Stories Reflect Traits the Storyteller Embodies

Leaders must “walk the talk.” They can’t just express a personal, social, and/or moral identity and then not live in it. Their words and actions must mesh.

Martin Luther King backed his speech with his life. He gave his life to his cause, figuratively and literally.

John 10:11-13
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

A good storyteller with an inconsistent life can only charm the audience for a moment. But a good storyteller with a consistent life will make long lasting imprints onto people’s life.

3)Stories Are More Readily Accepted If They Are Geared to the Unschooled, Five-Year-Old Mind

In our first half decade of life, most of us are like sponges, absorbing anything and everything we can in a desperate effort to answer critical identity questions. By the age of five, we are already well along in the process of self-definition and identification. We have had little, if any, formal education --- are unschooled, in Gardner’s terms --- and yet we have developed powerful notions about our existence. We see ourselves as being part of some groups but not of others. We hold certain beliefs, attitude, and values, yet we reject others. Some behaviours seem perfectly natural to us. Others seem extraordinary strange.

Jesus’ stories are not targeted at the highly intellectual individuals. They are stories of everyday common happenings that everybody in that culture can identify with. These stories appealed to the masses and not only to the minority.

4)In Storytelling, Form Is As Important As Content

The gurus urge would-be leader storytellers to polish their delivery. Jay Conger suggests that the best storytellers “create engaging dialogues with their audiences, structure their talks like symphonies, and use their potential energy to radiate excitement about their plans.”

Leadership, say our gurus, is partially a game of language. Would-be players must master the tool of rhetoric, including the use of metaphors and rhythmic speech patterns. Repetition, rhythm, balance, and alliteration grab the listeners’ attention, spark an emotional reaction, and cut through the daily babble. People remember the message. More importantly, stories connect the listener with the leader.

Matthew 7:24-27
24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Exercise

Craft a story utilising all the components for successful storytelling. It is recommended that the theme of the story be an element of our Hope values. As beginners, it is suggested that we write down our stories word for word. Thereafter, we should practise it until it becomes our second nature. Practice makes perfect.

Happy Storytelling!