148: The Four Critical Stories Leaders Need For Influence, with David Hutchens - a podcast by Dave Stachowiak

David Hutchens: The Storytelling Leaders
Leaders often hear about influence through storytelling, but don't know where to start. David Hutchens shares four stories to tell and how to get started.

“It’s more important to tell a strategic story, to tell the right story, even if you don’t tell it particularly well.” -David HutchensThe starting point of telling stories is permission

Storytelling is a skill that nobody really has to learn since it’s our natural languageLeaders needs to give themselves permission to tell a story in their organization

The 4 stories leaders need to tellWho we are stories - what it means to be us

Think about the stories parents and caregivers told you when you were young about what it was like growing up for themWhen we do this, we impart information about what we believe and who we are today
Every organization and team has an origin storyDavid shared the origin story of General Electric
A story from a leader always has a reason for telling itWhat are the identity and origin stories that you have?


Vision stories - the future we desireThese stories should be told in present tense language
You can tell a story about somebody else that is already doing what it is you envisionYou might tell a story about someone else if it’s a big jump from where the organization is today


Values in action stories - how the espoused values show up in our organizationDavid mentioned Zappos and the stories they create about customer service
The stories being told also affect how members of the organization make future choicesThe right story should reconnect people with why they really care about this work


Change and learning stories - the stories about a time we tried something and learned from itThis is generally the hardest story to tell
Think about the leaders you’ve loved and appreciated the most (the best ones do this well)These stories can build culture and loyalty
David shared the failure story of New CokeHere’s the structure:

I tried somethingHere’s the bad result I got
Here’s why I got that bad resultHere’s how I’m now changing my behavior so I get a better result next time





Don’t try to change your voice and be a professional storyteller: talk like youResources Mentioned

GO Team program*Leadership Story Deck* by David Hutchens
Circle of the 9 Muses: A Storytelling Field Guide for Innovators and Meaning Makers* by David HutchensDavid’s email: David@DavidHutchens.com

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