Organizational Storytelling for Librarians: Using Stories for Effective Leadership By Kate Marek Presentation by Claudia Baranowski and Hadeal Salamah

About the Author Kate Marek is a professor at Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, where she teaches in the areas of technology and policy. She has worked in the LIS profession for over 25 years as a professional librarian, a teacher, a trainer and as a consultant.

What is Organizational Storytelling?  is about effectively sharing personal experiences to make connections with people, ideas and values in the workplace

Power of Organizational Storytelling  Xerox Corp - shared coffee breaks, essential quality of human sharing over common experience  Paul Duguid’s story o Example of what can be lost when libraries digitize o Power of story to illustrate a point, facilitate in learning and “stickiness” of story to one’s memory  Technology has facilitated greater connections at expense of face to face interactions

Stories for Libraries: The Organizational Narrative  Whoever controls the information gets to tell the story  Whoever gets to tell the story wins  Capture and construct your own story, as well as your organization

Classic Organizational Narrative  B - Beginning, the library’s mission and early days  M - Middle, key events of your library, i.e.. construction of a new building  E – End, the vision for your library’s future

Stories for Leadership Who I am and Why am I here  Sharing stories makes leaders more human, connect with listeners  If you don’t tell your own story, someone else will their story about you

Springboard stories  Stephen Denning, executive and organizational storyteller  “What if…?”  Opens minds to new possibilities  freedom to imagine quWrlI5vKwCIHycMpL9EKo8OWXdEp6gHpucS8rP5ah8

Using Stories to Persuade  Propose new idea with evidence and logic, use stories to engage listeners heart to make commitment to change  Stories make human connections that data and information alone can’t make

Confirmation Bias  people seek to find information that confirm their established beliefs content/uploads/2011/10/stonesoup.jpg

Denning’s 3 Key Steps in Language of Leadership  Get the audience’s attention  Elicit desire for a different future  Reinforce with reasons

Getting the Story Right  An accurate story discredits the whole message – Al Gore  Reframing (or spin!) – how we frame a story can significantly alter how the content is received  Effective Listening: Building connections through listening to others’ stories truly builds community j26-e-EA9_5QZVZLcJUo3Vwi7Ag266jYDCEF24M3ZJ5J

Chapter 2 Communicating Vision and Values Shared vision – important to a learning organization Peter Senge- “a force in people’s hearts, a force of impressive power” (16) Story of Spartacus - film clipfilm clip

Shared Values Within concept of “shared vision” there is an explicit implication of “shared values” (16) Shared values in library profession o Equity of access o Privacy o Service to the user

Using Stories to Communicate Organizational Values  Sacred bundles – Native American Indians, a collection of items that are historical and sacred mementos of a tribe entrusted an elder to keep safe  Sacred Bundle stories o Story of the organization o represents its heart and soul

Library examples of sacred bundle stories  Sylvia Jenkins, Moraine Valley Community College o Communicates shared ownership and shared responsibility  Carolyn Anthony, Skokie Public Library o example of ‘viral story’ o Response to USA Patriot Act

Communicating Personal Values  Stories are valuable for communicating personal values such as honesty, integrity, and ethical conduct  Personal Stories o Leaders should tell “who I am” stories for listeners to learn about them and key influences

Personal Stories for Leadership In order to use stories effectively, leaders should think about these three questions o What do you want to listeners to feel? o What do you want listeners to remember? o What do you want listeners to believe?

Espoused Values vs. Values-in- Action  Personal stories that share values should be followed by action that reinforces that value.  Avoid being preachy or moralistic  Be authentic

Finding and Building Stories Building sacred bundle stories What are 5 to 10 pivotal events in your library’s history? Who are your library’s heroes? What key values and characteristics of your library are highlighted in your story? What physical objects or artifacts might you include in your sacred bundle? What crisis events or stories are in your sacred bundle?

Building Personal Value Stories Similar principles to creating sacred bundle stories but think of your own experiences  What are some pivotal events of your life?  Who are your heroes? What about library heroes?  What important artifacts or objects do you treasure and why?  What crisis events in your life helped shape who you are today?

Chapter 6 Developing the Skill Set General Process and Principles content/uploads/2012/05/WeGrowStorytellers.jpg

Be Thoughtful and Listen To Those Around You  Listening is a skill  Pay attention to others; understand their stories  Listen with your “third ear”  Three ‘R’s of listening manage/3457/images/Listening.jpg

Be Authentic  People can detest an imposter (values-in-action)  Connect with people bases on shared interests and backgrounds  Respect people enough to be genuine  Authenticity comes from consistency

Consider your Audience  Who are they?  What are their concerns?  What are they ready to hear?

Consider Your Goals Different goals require different stories  Do you want to spark action? consider telling a springboard story  Are you trying to establish trust? Try telling a “who I am” story

Creating Your Stories Be on the lookout for ideas to add to your story inventory  Take notes: capture your thoughts, ideas and impressions in writing as a useful tool for memory and reflection  Keep a mental “index” to help build and enhance your stories o Chronological index o General theme index

 Use story “triggers”  Write drafts  Learn the story o Visualization o Outline with key points o MIT’s  Practice your-story.jpg

Specific Story Types for Organizational Storytelling Denning’s Storytelling Catalog o Sparking action o Communicating who you are o Transmitting values o Fostering collaboration o Taming the grapevine o Sharing knowledge o Leading people into the future

Simmons Six Stories You Need To Know How To Tell o “ who I am” stories o “why am I here” stories o “the vision” stories o “teaching” stories o “values-in-action” stories o “I know what you are thinking” stories

Story Triggers Ways to Generate Story Ideas Four Buckets of Stories o A time you shined o A time you blew it o A mentor o A book, movie or current event Photographs and Memories o Old photos can trigger memories which lead to stories o “dig out” a mental image, fill in the details to make your story

Just Tell Them What Happened  Conversational storytelling – a story does not have to be dramatic to be powerful  Anecdotes  TED : Ideas Worth Sharing a web-based “clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other”

Collecting Stories From Others Easy ways to build your library’s stories  invite patrons to fill out comment cards  host creative essay contests

Stylistic Advice  Be Yourself  Confidence is gained with repetition  Choose stories that you enjoy telling  Beware of TMI  Beware of the “well-told story”

Power and Potential of Organizational Storytelling “Storytelling is a valuable tool for all kinds of communication in the workplace, but we haven’t yet maximized the potential in libraries. But …what if we could?!” (91)