Stories: the Power of Leadership

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King had it, Sen. Barack Obama has it, and in fact, all great leaders have it according to Rev. Tim Costello; it’s the ability to tell a good story. The is a quote from Costello from his book, Tips from a Travelling Soul-Searcher:

“The distinguishing mark of a great leader… is his or her ability to tell a good story--one which encompasses enough of human experience. It must acknowledge pain, anxiety and crisis, but then it must transcend the self-pitying aspects of this so that it lifts a person to new ground with hope and a fresh map for the way forward.”[1]

In a slightly different way Stew Friedman from Harvard Business Press says the same thing:

“Effective leaders use their imaginations to connect the actual stories of their pasts with the hoped-for stories of their futures.”[2]

This quality of story-telling is not simply the art of oratory or skill in engaging the heart. It is however, ostensibly about demonstrating a compassion and empathy of people and struggle through an actual happening as a way of projecting hope out of a despairing situation.

President-elect Obama has his work cut out for him with the Global situation as it is; yet it is his job, as much as anything else, to remain the eternal optimist, embracing the unknown with power and resolve during each day of his Presidency.

He will have to use all of his stories, and many others he learns about and can connect to, to inspire a generation of people who are flailing with a sense of despair for what is in front of them. He will need a team of leaders behind him who know too, how to tell a good story to inspire hope and positive change.

The refrain from Obama’s acceptance speech seemed to be “Yes we can,” employing much the same technique as Rev. Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech in connecting people to a simple meaning. Refrains connect people listening to the story to a simple truth. For Obama, and the picture he’s presenting to the American people, anything is possible. His election is proof of that.

Story-telling in leadership is way of engaging people through the use of imagination. It’s about engaging the heart as well as the mind. Inspiring leaders all around the world and in all different spheres learn of the implicit need to connect with people, their people, in ways that inspire hope, courage and faith--the broader good.

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ENDNOTES:
[1] Tim Costello, Tips from a Travelling Soul-Searcher (St. Leonards, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1999), p. 167. The chapter this quote is taken from is called, “the public and private anatomy of leaders.” Costello offers a fresh and a not-necessarily-secular take on leadership.
[2] Stew Friedman "Obama's Authentic Leadership -- And Yours” in Better Leader, Richer Life (posted November 6, 2008 2:38 PM) available at: http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/friedman/2008/11/obamas-authentic-leadership-an.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-LISTSERV-_-NOV_2008-_-LEADERSHIP