Storytellers as leaders
In June 2016, during the graduation ceremony at the HEC business school, Emmanuel Faber, who has since become CEO of Danone, spoke for nine short minutes. So far, nothing surprising except that he chose to tell a personal story, i.e. to use the power of storytelling, to share the cardinal value that drives him on a daily basis, that of social justice. During this rare moment, especially in France where speakers and audiences are not very familiar with this type of speech, Emmanuel Faber revealed the tragic fate of his brother, who was hospitalised at a very young age due to schizophrenia. It was with his brother, who helped the homeless and people in difficulty, that he learned the importance of social justice.
Knowledge... and emotion!
This story, full of emotion, is not just a story, it is above all a life lesson, useful for the audience that listens to it. However, many leaders refuse to express themselves in this way, often not knowing how to do so, and sometimes thinking that there is little point in 'telling stories'. There is therefore no place for stories in organisations, where reason should triumph. However, one of the fundamental roles of a leader is to motivate and unite his or her employees to achieve specific objectives, with the latter participating in the realisation of a common vision.
And to achieve this, statistics and logical demonstrations are not enough, despite their massive use. Indeed, when confronted with such statements, the leader is either confronted with serious reticence because the data he puts forward can always be called into question, or he manages to convince, but simply on a rational level. However, the latter can never be a source of inspiration and of surpassing oneself in the long term, elements which are necessary to get the best out of each employee.
Already in ancient times, Aristotle stated that all good speeches should appeal to reason (logos) and emotions (pathos). Better still, the most recent research shows that emotions are the shortest and fastest way to convince and persuade. In fact, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, was one of the first leaders to ban Power Point presentations during meetings in his company. Instead, employees write memos that are structured like stories.
An emotional and affective connection to things
Subsequently, the work of Steve Denning, one of the first to study the role of storytelling in organisations, shows that we get up in the morning, and are highly motivated, if and only if we have an emotional and affective connection to the projects we are working on, to the company we work for or to the leader we work for.
This is why the leader must link each of his ideas to emotions. This requires stepping out of his comfort zone, i.e. purely rational arguments, usually based on Power Point material. Instead, they must be willing to share personal experiences, especially difficult ones. Indeed, every story is based on conflicts that are obstacles to overcome in order to bring about change.
Consider a fictional start-up, Strawberry, which makes luxury scarves. In search of funds, its founder could detail his project in a purely analytical way, by mentioning all the technical details of his products. But his power of conviction will only really be deployed if he highlights the personal experiences that underpin his project. For example, he could share the moment when he had the idea to create his company: a trip to the other side of the world or the memory of his mother who always wore beautiful scarves.
From this initial situation, challenges, both technological, financial and human, would stand in his way. And, one by one, he would present the solutions he has put in place to develop his business, detailing here the most important technical aspects if necessary. This second way of presenting the facts is much more likely to engage investors than the first. As Carmine Gallo reminds us, Steve Jobs' great speeches, at Stanford in 2005 or during his famous keynotes, make extensive use of storytelling.
Stories are not all deception...
Stories, as Christian Salmon argues in his book Storytelling: The Storytelling and Mind-Formatting Machine, are often accused of exaggeration, deception and manipulation. Of course, like any other method, they can be misused. But the same is true of statistics, Excel files or supposedly argued presentations, which can also be manipulated. Moreover, the phenomenon of fake news is gaining ground even though we have all the tools at our disposal to check the veracity of the facts put forward.
Being a great storyteller is not the same as being a great leader. However, it is a prerequisite for inspiring an audience, asking them to get involved and make a difference. Storytelling creates an emotional, even affective, bond between the speaker and the audience, a bond that is much stronger than the rational presentation of facts alone.