Storytelling is a powerful tool that evokes visual images and heightened emotions. Business leaders who can tell a good story have tremendous impact. Presents a model and examples of organizational storytelling, discusses the use of stories in management development, and outlines ways to enhance managers’ storytelling skills.
This article first presents the theoretical grounding for both storytelling and the social construction of reality. A sequence of classroom-tested tools for combining stories with reality construction is then described. Two tools for framing reality are offered: One is an actual frame that students take out of the classroom to frame a scene in different ways; the other requires students to frame two different segments of a photographic advertisement. In both exercises, students tell (either orally or in writing) the two different stories (perceptions of reality) they discovered. The third activity involves requiring students to gather stories and then retell them to classmates from the original story-teller’s perspective thus experiencing the reality of the original teller as well as discovering what their storytelling partner heard. The article concludes with a discussion of student responses.
Analysis of career paths of middle managers in savings banks revealed significant gender differences. This study of matched pairs l'ound that men advanced faster and reached middle management through fewer promotions and positions than did their female counterparts. Men also had significantly more work experience outside of banking. In their banking careers, men held more jobs in lending, whereas women occupied more customer service positions.
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