Why a good story is mission critical for boards | Jyoti Gupta, Story teller and award winning author
A crucial yet often overlooked aspect of board effectiveness: stories. Imagine a world where numbers and strategies come alive, painting a vivid picture of your company's future. When it comes to decision-making and leadership, how can compelling narratives inspire your board and drive tangible results? The ancient art of storytelling can be your modern tool for boardroom success.In this podcast, Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards, discusses the importance of stories with Jyoti Guptara, who excels in helping leaders align narratives with corporate culture, fostering an environment where stories become a driving force for organizational identity and strategic direction. "We really want to tell a story that can connect people, tell them what we're all about, and invite people to join us on that journey"Why do many mission statements fail to change behaviour? Why do most change efforts fail? Jyoti says that when these strategic communications are abstract, they don’t connect with people. An important lesson for businesses and leaders is to tell a good story that helps transform abstract ideas, strategies, and mission statements into something graspable and tangible. "The larger the organisation gets, the more important the story becomes"Jyoti says companies are struggling to convince people why they should care. This is true even at companies that have a fantastic mission and story. They are struggling to tell a compelling story, and this directly links to the issues that many firms are facing with employee engagement and community building. Storytelling helps create clarity around the mission and work of the company. It also creates the space for community connection and for building a powerful community around a shared mission and values. "There are different stories for different contexts"To Jyoti, telling a good story comes down to telling the right story to the right people at the right time in the right way. This requires narrative intelligence, a skill that can be learned and honed with practice. Jyoti recommends thinking about where you're telling a story and why: your goal with the story. Different contexts require different stories. He says one basic principle he's found helpful is to think about story sizes. Some situations have space for a five or 10-minute-sized story. In other situations, you've only got 60 seconds. "Boards that do get storytelling right can be a lot more effective"To Jyoti, it's dangerous for boards to overlook storytelling. Board effectiveness improves when storytelling is in play, and good stories can also help with board development and governance issues. On an individual level, having a good story can influence who is brought onto the board and who stays on the board. So, to Jyoti, people need to develop strong personal narratives that showcase their experience and expertise. Once a part of a board, the individual stories can help unite the group and build cohesion as everyone gets to know and appreciate each other. This is especially important in board situations where you are trying to bring together a group with diverse backgrounds and perspectives and meld that group into an effective unit.The three top takeaways for effective boards are:1. People are not rational. Our default mode is to be emotional and rationalise after the fact. Remember this, and try to appeal to the whole brain by using stories.2. When people hit you with fact statements or statistics, ask them to reframe it as an anecdote to give a fuller picture of the situation.3. Practice telling stories every day. This will help you hone that tool in low-stakes situations so that you can shine in high-stakes environments.