The company for
which I currently work for does not practice the method of storytelling as
often as other companies might. There was only one instance to which a manager
tried to promote the “change in the air” by telling a story. The Director of
Dinning Services wanted to start the new fall semester fresh with new ideas,
policies, procedures, and methods of conducting business. He had asked the
manager below him to conduct a meeting talking about the new changes the
company would be implementing in the form of a story. The director’s motive for
using the storytelling method was to influence action for implementation and
motivate those skeptical about change on how these new ideas were for the
better of the company and it’s customers.
The manager in
charge of presenting the ideas through the story completely achieved the
opposite goals the director had in mind as well as achieved the opposite
results of storytelling. He conducted it more as a meeting where lower level
managers were obligated to follow as told or to deal with the consequences. The
manager presenting the ideas continued to say: “Change is in the air and it
will happen whether you like it or not. So either get on the train of change or
get left behind, which in that case there’s the door.” The results were more
resistance towards change. Lower level managers did agree however, that some of
the ideas presented would benefit the customers as well as the business but the
way they were presented did not seem adequate and it seemed uncalled for. The
manager did not in any way say things like: this is where we have been, this is
where we are now, and this is where we are aiming or want to be. It did not in
any form motivate anyone for change and those who were undecided about change
began resisting it even more. In other words, it destroyed the culture and the
communication in the company between lower level managers and top management. Needless
to say that the manager who pretended to tell a story is no longer with the
company and it took two months for the director to begin rebuilding the
communication and culture of the company. To this day it continues to struggle
on certain areas of communication but with time both the culture and communication
will become stronger than ever.
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