Purposeful StoriesMarch 2023
Vulnerability
Great Leaders tell stories through
The evening was to celebrate the IT giant’s 40th year in existence, amid a gathering of eminent members, ex- employees and well-wishers, the co-founder of the organisation admitted that he could’ve had a different opinion in terms of whom the company employed to its top ranks. “I think I was depriving this organisation of legitimate talent. I think that every individual must have the same opportunity as every other individual if he or she is considered the best person for the role,'' said Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, talking at an event in December last year. In a unique sign of vulnerability, Murthy said that he was wrong in not letting anybody from the promoter-founder families to take up large roles in the organisation.
But Murthy won hearts with his speech, because he showed us all that he is also human and can make wrong decisions.
For the longest time, the Indian CEO was somebody who was perceived weak if they showcased their emotion or vulnerabilities. The thought of admitting that not everything is perfect, can be a terrifying thought for a leader. A 2020 study on over 20,000 employees, showed how only 20% of employees felt their leaders openly shared their challenges, and 21% claimed that their leaders never openly share the challenges that they face.
Often vulnerability is viewed as a weakness, particularly among leaders in the business domain, where it is equated to a liability. Leaders are expected to always perform at a higher level than their employees. This is because they are banked upon to have a great vision for the organisation and march relentlessly towards it, all while handling setbacks and tough questions, without flinching.
How exactly can vulnerability be defined? It can be described as a state of emotional exposure that comes with a certain degree of uncertainty. In other words, it can be mustering the courage to say “I don’t know” Or that “ I took a decision and failed, and will work towards correcting it,”. Vulnerability also strongly involves a leader’s willingness to accept emotional risk from being open about their decisions and challenges.
Why is vulnerability important?
“When you show vulnerability as a leader, it supercharges the ability of sharing risks within teams and across groups, thus leading to more investment of trust,” says Zavahir Dastoor, a Capability and Leadership Development Coach with over 15 years of experience. Dastoor believes that we currently live in the VUCA period, a period marked by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. And in such trying times, vulnerability is going to be more important than ever.
Being vulnerable is arguably the most important tenet of building trust within teams and organisations. According to Matt Whiat, co-founder of the Chapman and Co. Leadership Institute, a leader can cultivate trust by creating an atmosphere where people speak truth to power without fear, the initiative is rewarded, communication is purposeful, and most importantly, leadership is viewed as a behavior and not a position.
A leader today is expected to intellectually stimulate, influence, inspire, and connect with employees at a personal level. These traits cannot be achieved if the leader is unable to showcase vulnerability.
Being a vulnerable leader could be difficult, especially considering that they’ll be placed in a position open to feedback and criticism, but on the flip side, being open to criticism also makes leaders imbibe different perspectives and insights, and goes on to show employees that their voices are heard and respected, hence creating stronger bonds.
Another aspect of vulnerability in leadership is the willingness to take risks—to take a chance on a new idea, which is now how innovation and growth take place. This demonstrates to the team that you are willing to try new things and not afraid to fail.
Above all, being empathetic and vulnerable fosters a sense of authenticity and humanity, where employees are truly comfortable approaching their leader without hesitancy, and all ideas are equally heard. Hence, vulnerable leadership can create lasting bonds with employees, foster a relationship that drives success, and revenue, and build a great company that today’s generation would be proud of and feel valued to work for.
Many leaders have won hearts through being open about their true emotions and being brave in accepting their weaknesses, while working towards them. Here are ways in which leaders win over people by being honest with their feelings. Which of them do you relate to?
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Personal confessions are powerful tools to build bonds. Do you as a leader ask for help in minor instances where you dont understand something? Would you reveal that there are a few issues in your personal life that are not letting you perform at your maximum?
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Many leaders know vulnerability is sticking by our values and beliefs publicly and privately. Can you recall an instance when you made the difficult choice knowing that it was the right thing to do?
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While vulnerability refers to being open about your emotions, it does not mean that the world needs to know every detail of our issues. “Vulnerability minus boundaries is not vulnerability.” Says Brene Brown, researcher, professor and author of multiple books on vulnerability.
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Many traditional large companies might view the openness of vulnerability as foreign, but the leader is a leader for a reason, as you have the power to be the changemaker and push for a change for a more empathetic and understanding work culture. What change have you brought about or pushed for in your organisation?
Volkswagen’s new CEO,
Thomas Schäfer, admitting that the infotainment on their cars needs improvement.
“ We know what we need to do. We’ve got feedback from customers, we’ve feedback from clinics and from journalists…they say, ‘You know this is not good. You’ve got to improve this.”
Zoom CEO,
Eric Yuan openly admits that Zoom has a lot to work on, right after the app rose in popularity during the first pandemic lockdown.
“To be clear, this should never have happened, clearly, we have a lot of work to do to ensure the security of all these new consumer use cases. We take these issues very, very seriously. If we find an issue, we’ll acknowledge it and we’ll fix it.”
Shopify CEO and founder
Tobi Lütke openly admitting that the company misread its growth during the pandemic after betting on the growth of online shopping to continue growing at a steep rate.
"Ultimately, placing this bet was my call to make and I got this wrong, as a consequence, we have to say goodbye to some of you today and I'm deeply sorry for that."
Five tips for effective storytelling for the impact sector
In the world of business, we can utilise the best PowerPoint presentations, cleverly strategized hyperbolic pitches, or other accoutrements to convince investors, partners or the public for a business deal. But when it comes to the social impact sector, nothing works better than a compelling and heart-touching story.
In the words of Robert McKee, author of “Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting,” says that to write a compelling story, one needs to “ fulfil a profound human need to grasp the patterns of living- not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience.” This statement could never be more apt than for creating compelling stories for the impact sector.
Social impact stories create a huge advantage for organisations as narratives that can highlight positive impacts of a particular initiative. They often utilise impact data, and compelling stories to support the effectiveness of the initiative and inspire action.
Is there a difference between normal storytelling and impact storytelling?
However, stories in the impact sector still emphasise a little too much on policies and showcasing emotional testimonies or pictures of beneficiaries. While dashboards and piecharts with good positive data might work for a tech startup, the opposite is true for the impact sector. The challenge here is to use data and testimonies of individuals impacted and incorporate the same into the story with compelling narratives. How do we do the same? Let’s find out below.
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Breathing life into the character
Characters serve as the driving force that pushes the plot forward and the narrative that you create can be experienced better through describing the character and their lives in detail. The story needs to include descriptive details such as personality, age and appearance. It can include narratives on how the person’s day begins, their most emotional moments such as spending time with family, and the impact moments, I.e., when their story overlaps with the impact you’re trying to create. Even if the user wants to be anonymous, a narrative can still be built while personally identifiable information can be withheld. This also can be used to describe the environment where the character’s story is of prominence.
Example :
“Pravleen Kaur walks by her maize field amidst a thick cloud of smoke. The tall 26-year-old graduate-turned-farmer and her family have had recent breathing issues owing to the stubble burning. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and white Kurta, her presence is easily distinguishable for the village that is used to men handling the farming activities,”
Carefully utilise emotions
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A compelling story includes stirring the emotions of the reader in order to take action. While many nonprofits have some of the most heart-warming stories to share, as many of them fight injustices and social wrongdoings, blunt emotional appeals should be avoided at all costs. What this means is that the story should showcase emotions and not try to tell. Make sure to mention subtle details that covers all five senses, I.e. sight, smell, sound and touch.
Example :
Showing: As Savita switched off the light and left the room, Ramesh tensed. He huddled to the side of the cot, gripped the kambli (woolen blanket), and held his breath as the wind from the Rann of Kutch brushed past the dirty window covers of the thatched hut.
Telling: Ramesh was terribly afraid of the dark.
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Make the most out of visuals
With the advent of 5G services, and with faster bandwidths at disposal, highly visual and immersive storytelling will become the norm. The impact sector is ripe with great stories to tell, and adding visual elements will play a key role in creating a lasting impression. Did you know that articles featuring infographics receive 70% more attention than normal articles?
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Embrace digital storytelling
Digital storytelling takes visual storytelling even further, with the help of techniques such as scroll-based animation, parallax scrolling, rich media and others to keep the reader hooked. A great example can be this digital newsletter from the development arm of the Belgian government. Although this could have been a simple pdf file, the developers went the extra mile to make it more interactive. It cleverly utilises embedded interactives, great storytelling and data visualisations.
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Repurpose a good story
A longform content piece does not need to remain a standalone. If the story has really stimulated the audience, make sure to not let it go to waste and utilise the same in all forms, including social media, visuals, videos and audio.
Visual: 5 tips to repurpose stories for the impact sector
Turn longform articles and listicles to podcasts
Create video content from blogs
Use all blog posts to make an e-book
Take testimonials from clients for social media content
Update old articles with new information, give a topical spin to old articles
Curated Reads
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Studies have shown that the brainwaves of the storyteller and the listener synchronise considerably during the process of storytelling.
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While telling a story, the brain attends more to what a character is thinking or feeling during an event than the sequence of events itself.
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How does the brain react to stories and why is it crucial for readers?
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The story should appeal to the heart, and not the head.
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Compelling stories cause the brain to release oxytocin and create more empathy among the reader, hence appealing more to the heart.
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Creating a compelling storytelling narrative through a website
