I’m not sure about you, but some of my coolest daily moments come from working with young people—some are colleagues, some are students, some are friends, and some are kiddos in my family—I think it’s because they always, seemingly freely, share their stories. Tell me your story and I’ll listen, connect with its content, your expressions, and in the end, I simply connect with you. Some folks on the #storytelling Twitter feed share similar sentiments:
How collaborative #storytelling makes better #data analysts and helps improve human understanding via @hbr | @ChrisCareyAxiom
Factual and fictional #storytelling are powerful and lead to transformation… @SHAdams
When brands compete, Story WINS!… @vcreatives
Cloak information withing #storytelling and people “hear the information” @RPdolls
Relationship between #storytelling and leadership http://bit.ly/TRXyK3 @hbr | @LouHoffman
What does this mean for leaders? for teachers? Quint Studer, the Founder of Studer Group shares that “sometimes the substance of what we share can be as important as the way we deliver the information” (Hardwiring Excellence). This is the power of storytelling; this is the “why” (Hardwiring Excellence):
Each and every day acts of heroism take place in schools. And not just in the school or school district across town. These stories live in your halls and are just waiting for you to hold them up to the light. By sharing these stories, we build a culture that says, “This is what we are about. These are the acts we strive for. These are the things for which we come to work each day.”
So, actively collect stories. If you create a standard of behavior, tell a story about someone who exemplifies it. By connecting the story to the behavior you’re looking for, you inspire. What we do as school leaders to support teachers through storytelling helps teachers connect back to their purpose for teaching, know that they do worthwhile work, and make a difference in the lives of their students.
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#storytelling Twitter feed accessed September 24, 2014.
Studer, Quint. 2003. Hardwiring Excellence. Gulf Breeze, FL: Fire Starter Publishing.
Our mission at Studer Education is to help education systems achieve measurable results that produce positive outcomes in student achievement, employee engagement, support services, and financial efficiencies and productivity. Our goal is to help school systems provide students with a great place to learn, teachers with a great place to teach, and parents with confidence that their children are getting a great education. Follow us on Twitter at @StuderEducation and visit us online at http://studereducation.com. Studer Education is a division of Studer Group, ranked for the seventh straight year on the Best Small and Medium Workplaces by Great Place to Work® and a recipient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Filed under: Who’s Engaged? Tagged: #leaders, Leader Development, Leadership, Storytelling 
