Organizational storytelling

Organizational storytelling is an emerging discipline in the study of management, strategy and organization studies. As an emerging discipline it is contested ground, with some academics describing it is a purposeful tool to be used by business people, and others describing it is a way of understanding and interpreting organizational life.

For those that believe it to be a powerful managerial tool, it is seen as the key leadership competency for the 21st century. Knowing how to deliver a story effectively combined with knowing the right story to tell is a powerful influencing and communication skill. It can be used to connect employees to strategy by providing understanding, belief and ultimately motivation in the personal contribution that employees can make. Several books and articles have been written from this perspective. Besides an essential leadership competency for all leaders it is also a powerful communication and change management technique.

For those who believe it is an interpretativist methodology for deciphering a deeper understanding of organizational life, storied accounts represent a unique insight into how individuals make sense of their world.

Storytelling research

Storytelling has been assessed for critical literacy skills and education by the storytelling-drama charity Neighborhood Bridges, Minneapolis. They are at the forefront of storytelling-drama research in schools. ^[1] A storyteller researcher in the UK has proposed that the social space created preceding oral storytelling in schools may trigger sharing which may have relevance for organizations in terms of helping employees to connect(Parfitt, 2014).^[2] A full paper on the current status of storytelling research is being currently compiled by the same researcher at Warwick University. ^[3]

References

• Berendsen, W.T.M, A phronesis antenarrative about the understanding of money and use of money in more phronetic ways, to be downloaded here http://wilvon.com/download_center/index.php?TheMoneyGame1.pdf
• Berendsen, W.T.M, Towards a reenchanted society through storytelling and phronesis antenarrating, to be downloaded here http://wilvon.com/download_center/index.php?Rechantingsociety1.pdf
• * Boje, David M. 1989 Postlog: Bringing performance back in. Journal of Organizational Change Manangement, 2(2): 80–93 * Boje, David M. 1991. The storytelling organization: A study of storytelling performance in an office supply firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36: 106–126.
• Boje, David M. 2001. Narrative Methods for Organizational and Communication Research. London: Sage.
• Brown, J.S., Denning, S., Groh, K., Prusak, L. 2004. Storytelling in Organizations: Why Storytelling Is Transforming 21st Century Organizations and Management. Boston: Butterworth Heinemann.
• Czarniawska, Barbara. 1997. Narrating the Organization: Dramas of Institutional Identity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Czarniawska, Barbara. 1998. A Narrative Approach to Organization Studies. Qualitative Research methods Series Vol. 43. Thousand Oaks, Ca; Sage Publications, Inc.
• Czarniawska, Barbara. 2004. Narratives in Social Science Research. London: Sage.
• Denning, Steve. 2000. The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations. Boston: Butterworth Heinemann.
• Denning, Steve. 2004. Squirrel Inc.: A Fable of Leadership Through Storytelling. San Francisco: Jossey–Bass.
• Denning, Steve. 2004. “Telling Tales”, Harvard Business Review, May 2004.
• Denning, Steve. 2005. The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art & Discipline of Business Narrative, Jossey–Bass, San Francisco
• Denning, Steve. 2007. The Secret Language of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Action Through Narrative, Jossey–Bass, San Francisco ISBN 978-0-7879-8789-3
• Dolan, G. 2007. 'From the tea room to the board room' The Australian Anthill Magazine.
• Gabriel, Yiannis. 1991. "On organizational stories and myths: Why it is easier to slay a dragon than to kill a myth." International Sociology 6:427–442.
• Eisenberg, M. (1984) Ambiguity as strategy in organizational communication. Communication Monographs, 51: 227–242.
• Fisher, R. 1984. Narration as a human communication paradigm: The case of public moral argument. Communication Monographs,51 (March): 1–22
• Gabriel, Yiannis.1995. "The unmanaged organization: Stories, fantasies and subjectivity." Organization Studies 16:477–501.
• Gabriel, Yiannis 2000. Storytelling in Organizations: Facts, fictions, and fantasies. London: Oxford University Press.
• Gargiulo, Terrence L. 2001. Making Stories: A Practical Guide for Organizational Leaders and Human Resource Specialists Westport: Greenwood 2007. Once Upon a Time: Using Story-Based Activities to Develop Breakthrough Communication Skills, Jossey Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco 2006. Stories at Work: Using Stories to Improve Communication and Build Relationships, Connecticut: Praeger
• Gargiulo, Terrence L. 2005. The Strategic Use of Stories in Organizational Communication and Learning, Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
• Heath, C. & Heath, D. 2007. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. New York: Random House.
• Kelley, T. 2005. The Ten Faces of Innovation. NY: Random House.
• Kouzes, J.M & Posner, B.Z.: 2003. The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey–Bass.
• Laufer, A. and Hoffman, E., Project Management Success Stories: Lessons of Project Leaders, John Wiley & Sons, 2000.
• Pink, D. 2006. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. Riverhead Trade.
• Signorelli, J. 2011, "StoryBranding: Creating Standout Brands Through the Power of Story, Greenleaf Books
• Simmons, A. 2002 The Story Factor, Basic Books, New York.
• Sykes, Malik, West. 2012, Stories That Move Mountains, John Wiley & Sons, UK
• Zemke, Ron (1990) Storytelling: Back to basics. Training, March : 44–49.