Leaders should narrate true stories
D.Murali
Chennai: Transformational leaders, in whatever sphere they are in, “change the world by generating enduring enthusiasm for a common cause,” writes Stephen Denning in ‘The Secret Language of Leadership’ (www.josseybass.com). Such leaders “present innovative solutions to solve significant problems. They catalyse shifts in people’s values and ideologies.”
But how do they do all this? “Successful leaders communicate very differently from the traditional, abstract approach to communication,” finds Denning. “In all kinds of settings, they communicate by following a hidden pattern: first, they get attention. Then they stimulate desire, and only then do they reinforce with reasons.” Implementing thus, they co-create the future along with their followers, by continuing the conversation…
Words alone won’t work, the author says. You need the right conditions in the form of enablers like “a truthful commitment to a clear, inspiring change idea that is illuminated by narrative intelligence, and appropriate body language”
Denning urges leaders to cultivate ‘narrative intelligence’ as a key capability, because of the pervasive role that stories play. “Recognition of the foundational role of narrative in human behaviour has been the subject of a rapidly growing body of psychological research,” he informs. Studies have shown that stories are more effective than analytic reasons at persuasion!
However, if narrative intelligence has to work, it has to be based on truthfulness, Denning cautions. “Being a leader entails first making a commitment to truth and authenticity, eliminating any untruthfulness inside the firm as well as outside.”
He foresees a rapidly growing need for leadership, ‘caused by the convergence of irresistible socio-economic forces.’ The ability to get results in the face of myriad challenges of the current century will depend at least as much on leadership as on management, says Denning. “It will depend on a capacity to inspire enduring enthusiasm in people over whom we have no hierarchical control.”
Imperative read.
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