Today’s Leaders Use Storytelling To Connect With Their Teams
People have been telling stories since the dawn of time. Whether in the form of drawings on cave walls or blog posts of media influencers, communicating an important message has always been more effective when it’s conveyed in a way that is memorable and meaningful to the audience.
Kiersten Kanaley, Vice President of Talent Acquisition for Cleveland Clinic, believes that one of the best ways to tell a story that resonates with your audience is to understand what matters most to them and meet them where they are. By using empathetic listening skills, you’ll be able to inspire, connect and lead with authenticity and impact.
Why stories are important
It’s essential that today’s leaders make strong emotional connections with their teams to make them feel they are part of the culture and empower them to tell their own stories. Kanaley says, “Authentic storytelling builds trust and credibility. When leaders share stories that illustrate their values, experiences and challenges, they humanize themselves and build rapport with their audience, fostering trust and respect.”
She continues, “Something I personally learned as a leader is to tell those stories of vulnerability and what my journey has been so that others will share theirs. That’s when we’re truly able to influence change.”
How stories affect our brain
Jim Stroud, the Editor for SourceCon, explains that storytelling synchronizes the listener’s brain with the teller’s brain. What eventually happens is that the brain releases oxytocin in response to stories and increases empathy and connection as well as compassion and trust.
By telling stories, leaders empower their listeners to tell their own stories. And they often take those stories and add their own twist, taking them to the next level. It’s stories like these that come together to paint a realistic picture of your organization’s culture.
The formula for a successful story
Kanaley references Kelly Parker’s TedTalk, Business Storytelling Made Easy, where Parker describes three things required for a successful story:
- Know your audience’s problem (current situation) and pursuit (where/who they want to be).
- Paint them a picture that they can remember and repeat.
- Make a proposal that feels like the next logical step.
In her TedTalk, Parker also describes the importance of being specific with regard to a person, challenge, imagery and feelings. It’s those distinguishable characteristics that your audience can relate to.
“If you understand your audience’s problem and pursuit, you can inspire action and shift belief, “Kanaley says. “By framing concepts within a narrative structure, leaders can clarify their message.”
When to include storytelling
By including the following strategies during every team meeting, Kanaley is able to continually create emotional engagement by:
- Grounding each meeting with a review of the organization’s values and what it means to recruit in the Cleveland Clinic Way.
- Sharing team members’ good catches and near misses.
- Emphasizing that each member of Talent Acquisition and the organization is a recruiter and should try to see their family and friends in all job seekers so that they can truly relate to the situations they are going through.
To ensure her stories are resonating with her team, Kanaley regularly participates in skip-level rounding to meet with them and gauge their feedback. She also distributes surveys following kickoff and all-hands meetings, collecting and analyzing the responses. She’s found that when a meeting includes a patient or caregiver story, the audience’s engagement goes up.
It’s also helpful to remember that it’s never too early to start making connections through storytelling. Cleveland Clinic has begun to feature 30-second caregiver videos on job posting on its careers website. These videos show employees in their work environment, sharing what they enjoy most about their careers and what a day at work may look like. By enabling applicants to picture themselves in the role, they have proven to be successful in beginning to lay a foundation of trust with them.
Let your stories ring true
No matter how today’s leaders approach telling their stories, it’s essential that they draw on personal experiences that are innately human and inspire their audience to feel genuine emotions. As Kanaley says, “I believe that the best storytellers will not be replaced by artificial intelligence.”
People have been telling stories since the dawn of time. Whether in the form of drawings on cave walls or blog posts of media influencers, communicating an important message has always been more effective when it’s conveyed in a way that is memorable and meaningful to the audience.
Kiersten Kanaley, Vice President of Talent Acquisition for Cleveland Clinic, believes that one of the best ways to tell a story that resonates with your audience is to understand what matters most to them and meet them where they are. By using empathetic listening skills, you’ll be able to inspire, connect and lead with authenticity and impact.
Why stories are important
It’s essential that today’s leaders make strong emotional connections with their teams to make them feel they are part of the culture and empower them to tell their own stories. Kanaley says, “Authentic storytelling builds trust and credibility. When leaders share stories that illustrate their values, experiences and challenges, they humanize themselves and build rapport with their audience, fostering trust and respect.”
She continues, “Something I personally learned as a leader is to tell those stories of vulnerability and what my journey has been so that others will share theirs. That’s when we’re truly able to influence change.”
How stories affect our brain
Jim Stroud, the Editor for SourceCon, explains that storytelling synchronizes the listener’s brain with the teller’s brain. What eventually happens is that the brain releases oxytocin in response to stories and increases empathy and connection as well as compassion and trust.
By telling stories, leaders empower their listeners to tell their own stories. And they often take those stories and add their own twist, taking them to the next level. It’s stories like these that come together to paint a realistic picture of your organization’s culture.
The formula for a successful story
Kanaley references Kelly Parker’s TedTalk, Business Storytelling Made Easy, where Parker describes three things required for a successful story:
- Know your audience’s problem (current situation) and pursuit (where/who they want to be).
- Paint them a picture that they can remember and repeat.
- Make a proposal that feels like the next logical step.
In her TedTalk, Parker also describes the importance of being specific with regard to a person, challenge, imagery and feelings. It’s those distinguishable characteristics that your audience can relate to.
“If you understand your audience’s problem and pursuit, you can inspire action and shift belief, “Kanaley says. “By framing concepts within a narrative structure, leaders can clarify their message.”
When to include storytelling
By including the following strategies during every team meeting, Kanaley is able to continually create emotional engagement by:
- Grounding each meeting with a review of the organization’s values and what it means to recruit in the Cleveland Clinic Way.
- Sharing team members’ good catches and near misses.
- Emphasizing that each member of Talent Acquisition and the organization is a recruiter and should try to see their family and friends in all job seekers so that they can truly relate to the situations they are going through.
To ensure her stories are resonating with her team, Kanaley regularly participates in skip-level rounding to meet with them and gauge their feedback. She also distributes surveys following kickoff and all-hands meetings, collecting and analyzing the responses. She’s found that when a meeting includes a patient or caregiver story, the audience’s engagement goes up.
It’s also helpful to remember that it’s never too early to start making connections through storytelling. Cleveland Clinic has begun to feature 30-second caregiver videos on job posting on its careers website. These videos show employees in their work environment, sharing what they enjoy most about their careers and what a day at work may look like. By enabling applicants to picture themselves in the role, they have proven to be successful in beginning to lay a foundation of trust with them.
Let your stories ring true
No matter how today’s leaders approach telling their stories, it’s essential that they draw on personal experiences that are innately human and inspire their audience to feel genuine emotions. As Kanaley says, “I believe that the best storytellers will not be replaced by artificial intelligence.”
