Looking to Maximize Employee Engagement? Tell a Good Story
Being a leader in today’s world is very difficult. As organizations work to heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, challenges related to staffing and turnover are more rampant than ever before. All eyes shift to a company’s leadership to ask the question: “what are you doing to retain talent?” or, “what are we doing as an organization to remain competitive?”
These are difficult questions, and the questions carry a significant amount of weight. According to an article published by Gallup, “research shows that only 13% of U.S. employees strongly agree the leadership of their organization communicates effectively with the rest of the organization. Just 15% strongly agree the leadership of their organization makes them feel enthusiastic about the future. And only 34% are engaged.” These are tough numbers to be up against as a leader. Creating effective strategy is one thing. Communicating what that strategy is, while leading through turbulent market-challenges, is another thing entirely.
So, as leaders – what can we do to make sure that messages are landing with the intent and authenticity that our teams need to feel the safety and comfort of the future? Good storytelling.
Storytelling is an art form that traces origins back to the earliest times. We all possess hundreds of stories from our lives and experiences that can be drawn upon in business to influence others. Let’s discuss the power of narrative and break down the following five types of stories every leader should possess in their communicator’s toolbox to impact audience:
- The Origin Story: This provides a window into how your company came to be, articulating values, priorities and details.
- The Value Story: This is a story used to develop trust and generate excitement.
- The Crucible Story: A story that describes a challenge or demand, and how you or your organization adapted to overcome the challenge.
- The Solution Story: The story demonstrating how your organization identified a problem or customer need and addressed it through your expertise.
- The Pie-In-The-Face Story: This story proves you are fallible and a human by showing how you’ve made and learned from mistakes.
Pinnacle Performance Company can help you learn and understand great Storytelling technique, and / or great communications technique to ensure that you have an effective plan in place while you navigate through difficult times. Ultimately, this will help maximize engagement and enhance credibility while motivating employee retention. Reach out today to see how Pinnacle can help you with any of your organization’s communication needs.