The Narrative Lens and Organizational Change
Issues & Observations
The Narrative Lens and Organizational Change
Nick Nissley and Stedman Graham
W
hat do a CEO and a six-year-old child grieving over the death of her pet dog have in common? More than you might think. Recently a friend told us a story about her daughter, who after the death of the family’s chocolate Labrador said, “I wish we could just give Woody a pill and make him a puppy again.” It reminded us that when people’s health fails them, they often seek prescriptions. Our friend’s daughter was hoping for a drug remedy to restore her dog’s health and vitality. Later that evening we attended a client engagement in San Diego, where we listened to the organization’s CEO speak to more than a hundred shareholders, telling them the story of the organization he founded. He proudly talked about the company’s founding and its history of winning. But he also painted an honest picture of a less-thanoptimistic market outlook and the complex challenges and risks the company was facing. He said that strategies that had worked for the company in the past would no longer help it navigate through future challenges. He described how the company would be forced to
shift gears. He confidently told the shareholders that a new strategic plan had been drawn up at the company’s recent leadership retreat and that his management team was beginning to deliver on it.
The business world in recent years has shown increasing interest in the narrative lens and more specifically in the relationship between leadership storytelling and organizational change.
Editor’s note: Issues & Observations is a venue for CCL staff members and associates to express their personal views about leadership.
After the CEO finished speaking, we reflected on his speech. His approach sounded quite similar to approaches detailed in many other executives’ speeches to shareholders we had heard over the past few years. The next day we continued to reflect on the similarity of the CEO’s
The Narrative Lens and Organizational Change
Nick Nissley and Stedman Graham
W
hat do a CEO and a six-year-old child grieving over the death of her pet dog have in common? More than you might think. Recently a friend told us a story about her daughter, who after the death of the family’s chocolate Labrador said, “I wish we could just give Woody a pill and make him a puppy again.” It reminded us that when people’s health fails them, they often seek prescriptions. Our friend’s daughter was hoping for a drug remedy to restore her dog’s health and vitality. Later that evening we attended a client engagement in San Diego, where we listened to the organization’s CEO speak to more than a hundred shareholders, telling them the story of the organization he founded. He proudly talked about the company’s founding and its history of winning. But he also painted an honest picture of a less-thanoptimistic market outlook and the complex challenges and risks the company was facing. He said that strategies that had worked for the company in the past would no longer help it navigate through future challenges. He described how the company would be forced to
shift gears. He confidently told the shareholders that a new strategic plan had been drawn up at the company’s recent leadership retreat and that his management team was beginning to deliver on it.
The business world in recent years has shown increasing interest in the narrative lens and more specifically in the relationship between leadership storytelling and organizational change.
Editor’s note: Issues & Observations is a venue for CCL staff members and associates to express their personal views about leadership.
After the CEO finished speaking, we reflected on his speech. His approach sounded quite similar to approaches detailed in many other executives’ speeches to shareholders we had heard over the past few years. The next day we continued to reflect on the similarity of the CEO’s