Role Models

 Leadership storytelling is fast becoming one of the most popular methods of developing leaders - read on to find out why we all need leadership role models to inspire and challenge us........ 

"The Power of Leadership Storytelling" by Melissa Delin, courtesy of Link and Learn

PART 1

Leadership development, at its core, is about creating changes in thinking and behavior....
Outstanding leaders are capable of affecting great change at all levels: in themselves, in the people they manage, in the teams they direct, in the business units they run, and in the organizations of which they are a part. All managers are capable of becoming great leaders; however, the growing process does not come naturally to everyone. Leadership is a blend of instincts, skills, and choices, some of which are innate, others of which are acquired. Often, a manager's natural leadership qualities reveal themselves in times of crisis, when the stakes are high and seemingly impossible things are achieved. For leadership development professionals, the ultimate challenge is to bottle that experience in order to find a way to inspire managers to that level of commitment and passion in their daily management tasks, as well as infect others with their enthusiasm.

Executive storytelling is a powerful medium for recognizing and cultivating leadership potential. Growing in popularity, leadership stories are based on a simple, compelling principle: role models. Children are often encouraged to seek role models so that they can build confidence and adopt positive values; adults too are moved by stories of human greatness. During a leadership development experience, connecting such stories to everyday work challenges can result in profound transformation. In the Summer 2002 issue of Sloan Management Review, Douglas Reddy proclaims that, "executive storytelling initiatives outperformed many other [leadership] methodologies."

For a leadership story to have the desired effect, it must meet a certain level of criteria. It must be engaging and memorable. It will usually involve a measure of drama but must also be human, authentic, and easy to identify with. The story must set up the unambiguous challenge, explore the actions of the protagonist, and connect the protagonist's behavior to a clear outcome. Truly great leadership stories share applicable lessons, prompt internal reflection, and instigate debate among listeners. While it is a highly effective vehicle for inspiring leadership in others, leadership storytelling is not without risk. Stories may be rejected by some if the circumstances are perceived as extraordinary or if the protagonist is perceived to be a "hero," someone whose capabilities are beyond typical human reach. To combat resistance, it is incumbent on the storyteller to ensure that the leadership lessons, not the specific conditions, are the focus of the story.

Personal Leadership Stories

One method for humanizing leadership storytelling is to share personal stories. Pharmaceutical giant, Wyeth Corporation, realized the benefits of storytelling by experiencing the technique, first-hand, in its recent leadership development program. Initially, management expert, Noel Tichy, introduced his work on leadership stories to Wyeth by having high potential leaders share their stories in Wyeth's Global Leadership Program. Program participants around the world rated Tichy's approach among the highest of the program's components.

Building upon the foundation that Tichy established, Linkage, Inc. expanded the executive storytelling technique to a broader audience utilizing executive storytelling as an integral component of Wyeth's Executive Leadership Program. As described in Tichy's Leadership Engine, Wyeth leaders were asked to list key experiences and lessons from their lives, as well as plot their individual leadership journeys. An individual's leadership journey is made up of the significant achievements and setbacks from birth to present day. The leadership journey worksheet consists of a single horizontal line; a participant identifies and marks high and low points in order of chronology, then connects the dots to obtain a clear picture of the path their life has taken. The act of plotting one's leadership journey requires careful consideration and often leads to deep reflection about the events that have influenced and shaped one's sense of self. Example significant life events may include managing a paper route at thirteen, losing a beloved parent or grandparent, saving up to buy a car, getting promoted or fired, getting married or divorced, having or losing a baby.

After plotting their leadership stories, Wyeth participants were asked to share their stories with two partners, listen to their partners' stories, and discuss what they heard and provide feedback. Did the person's story clarify their values, principles, and expectations? Could they connect the story to a real-work challenge? Then, participants practiced instances where they would use their leadership story to exemplify a principle or illustrate a point of view.

The impact of using personal leadership stories at Wyeth was overwhelmingly positive and helped to fuel constructive dialogue among teams about values, principles, and share vision. "Having Wyeth leaders share their stories with their teams adds an entirely new dimension to Wyeth's vision and values," said Tim Fidler, Executive Director, Leadership Development at Wyeth. By revealing failures and vulnerabilities, as well as accomplishments and triumphs, senior executives changed their reputation from "lecturers" to "storytellers" and coaches. Managers at Wyeth began opening up to one another and sharing personal experiences, multi-rater feedback, and development goals. They created a buzz that resonated throughout the company. Most of all, they experienced a sense of connection - with one another, with senior leaders, and with company values.

PART 2

Heroic Leadership Stories: A Hero For Daisy

Congress passed Title IX on May 22, as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, stating:

"no person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid."

While Title IX was designed to provide equitable treatment of men and women in all aspects of education, it has gained particular notoriety in athletics.

Chris Ernst, a two-time Olympian rower, was captain of the Yale University women's crew team in 1976. She led a team of women who were hardy, fit, and wholly committed to their sport. Although women's crew had only been in existence at Yale since 1972, the team had already captured second place at the national championships in 1974 and third place in 1975.

The Yale University boathouse was not equipped with women's locker room facilities so the university made temporary provisions; during the 1974 and 1975 seasons, the women took post-practice showers in a trailer which lacked hot water and electricity. In 1976, the school provided the team with a new trailer, but dawdled in securing the proper zoning variances. When the men and women began outdoor practices at the Housatonic River in late February, the women's trailer's plumbing and electricity remained unconnected. After grueling early-morning practice sessions, the men took hot showers in their locker room, while the women were forced to wait on the bus with frozen hair, soaked clothes, and chilled bodies.

Ernst, along with her teammates, rightfully resented having to endure such conditions. The women rowers were beginning to catch colds and illness would negatively impact their performance. Ernst and two cohorts decided to stage a protest. They planned a daring action, wrote a 300-word statement, and contacted a reporter from The New York Times. On March 3, 1976, just before practice was scheduled to begin, nineteen members of the Yale University women's crew team marched into the office of the Director of Physical Education, Joni Barnett. Lined up in two military-style rows, the women stripped off their clothing to reveal the words "Title IX" inked onto their bare chests and backs. Ernst read her statement, including: "These are the bodies Yale is exploiting. On a day like today the ice freezes on this skin. Then we sit for half an hour as the ice melts and soaks through to meet the sweat that is soaking us from the inside. We sit for half an hour with the chills… half a dozen of us are sick now."

The New York Times ran the story ("Yale Women Protest a Lack of Crew's Showers") and the matter gained immediate attention. The university was shamed into urgent action; eight days after the protest, the women's trailer was made usable and Yale announced that it planned to build "a permanent locker room for the women similar to the one that the men crew members have" ("Yale's Women Crew Get Locker Room," The New York Times).

Organizations can use this type of story to inspire and empower individuals or groups of people at any level of leadership to speak out, exercise influence, and affect change. In Part 1 of this article, we explored the potential risks of sharing leadership stories; specifically, that "stories may be rejected by some if the circumstances are perceived as extraordinary or if the protagonist is perceived to be a 'hero,' someone whose capabilities are beyond typical human reach." A Hero for Daisy is particularly effective because the victors were not in a position of power; they were young, female, and decidedly in the minority at Yale. The university did not begin admitting women into its undergraduate program until the fall of 1969; for 268 years before that, it was a single-sex institution with an emphatically masculine reputation. By fighting for what they felt was a basic right, the women of Yale crew were not just going up against the Physical Education Department, but also centuries of bias and inequality. In their action, the women displayed strong leadership traits: courage, organization, and conviction, to name a few. The widespread and immediate organizational change that these women created at Yale University is a compelling reminder that, regardless of authority, every person is capable of great accomplishments using the power of leadership.

PART 3

Historical Leadership Stories: Shackleton's Way

The story of Ernest Shackleton and his doomed 1914 expedition to Antarctica aboard the vessel Endurance is fraught with drama, hazard, and valuable lessons in team leadership. The tale, which has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent months, strikes a chord with training and development professionals who see meaningful parallels between Shackleton's leadership style and the kind of leadership necessary to navigate the rough waters of today's business environment.

The mission of the Endurance expedition was to cross a 1,800-mile expanse of Antarctica on foot. Just one day's journey from its intended landing site, the ship became stuck in the polar ice of the Weddell Sea. The ice dragged the vessel for ten months and eventually crushed her, forcing the crew to abandon ship. The men salvaged Endurance's lifeboats before she inevitably sank but they were stranded with no means of communicating with the outside world and no hope of timely rescue.

The group camped out on the ice, sleeping in crude tents and subsisting on a diet of penguins, seals, and dogs. Knowing that they would die if despair and hopelessness took hold, Shackleton, or "the Boss," as the crew dubbed him, made sure that the men felt useful and productive. They had to believe that they were actively trying to get out of their predicament, and that if they worked together, that they would succeed. Shackleton had to balance negative and positive energy to make sure that the naysayers among them wouldn't destroy the group's fragile confidence. To get the men working together, he dropped all pretenses of hierarchy and treated everyone, including himself, as equals. He set up work assignments on a rotating schedule so that everyone did the same tasks. On occasion, he even stepped aside and let another member of the group assume leadership. To encourage the men to remain in good spirits, he insisted that they play music, keep journals, create and perform skits, and otherwise engage their minds creatively.

After nearly six months of living on the ice, the Endurancecrew braved the turbulent waters of the Weddell Sea and set sail in their lifeboats to Elephant Island. Shackleton left to seek rescue, leaving the majority of the men on Elephant Island. Eventually, Shackleton and a small crew returned to rescue the men of the Endurance. Amazingly, there were zero casualties.

Shackleton is lauded for his bravery and tenacity in times of grave peril. The members of the Endurancecrew credit their survival to the might of their leader, a claim that is thoroughly documented in the book Shackleton's Way by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell. Morrell and Capparell also explore how companies today are using Shackleton's story to inspire teamwork and commitment within their own organizations. The Shackleton story is highly effective, as he employed leadership cornerstones that are universally applicable and steeped in collaboration and positive thinking.

He led by example, never assigning work to any man that he would not do himself. He insisted on open communication among the team, built on a foundation of trust. He built morale among his team; he maintained an image of capability and resilience, never expressed doubt that they would see safe rescue, and created and sustained a feeling of optimism. His leadership style appeals to many of today's leadership values: direct, unguarded communication, democratic voice, flat structure, valuing people, and high morale. Overall, Shackleton's story demonstrates the power of leadership in its purest, and possibly most powerful, form.

CONCLUSION

The Power of Leadership Stories

Leadership storytelling is fast becoming one of the most popular methods of developing leaders, for many basic reasons. It's not difficult - anyone can do it, everyone has a story to tell, and every story is relevant and significant. Additionally, storytelling is contagious - one person sharing their story to a group leads to others in the group sharing their stories with each other.

The human element of a corporate environment is endlessly complex - tiers of responsibility, clear and covert sources of power, entities with conflicting objectives, unspoken sentiments, suspicious motives, multifarious personalities and temperaments - progress is often stymied by poor communication. Organizations are learning that sharing leadership stories helps to inspire partnership and truthfulness, which allows employees to let go of the rhetoric and politicking that may be overshadowing real breakthrough work.

Whether they are personal, heroic, or historical, sharing leadership stories creates shared learning and understanding within a group by bringing personal goals and beliefs into business discussions. Organizations that use storytelling as a leadership tool find that, on a personal level, engaging in candid discussion raises the comfort and confidence level of individuals. On a team level, heightened confidence leads to an increase in the flow of opinions, ideas, and breakthroughs in group situations. And on an organizational level, teams and business units operating at top performance boost the number and quality of interactions, improve the quality of outputs, and lead to increased business results throughout the organization.