Leadership Storytelling - Emerging Nurse Leader

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

There are few teaching tools that are more powerful than a good story. I was reminded of that the other day when I listened to Grant Baldwin’t podcast How did You get into That interview with Drew Pittman, an NFL agent. We often look at the success of others and never hear the behind the scenes story of what it took to get where they are today. Drew Pittman is a great example of this. He has that “Jerry Maguire” job that many young man aspire to. Yet as he explained in the podcast, the work is very challenging and there are risks that these agents take that many of us probably don’t consider. Leadership storytelling can be very effective in helping someone plan their career as Grant Baldwin does with his podcasts. Our young nurses need to hear our stories about how we got to where we are today. There journeys will be different yet there are many truths in life that are timeless. Story telling can effectively convey these truths whether they be discussions about one’s career path or one’s mistakes.

When you think about it, leadership is about influence and persuasion. At the heart of persuasion is storytelling. As leaders, we use storytelling every day whether we consciously think about it or not. Story can be used to simulate experience as illustrated in the example above. Every audience member listening to that podcast was probably fascinated with Drew’s journey and could relate to the successes and failures that he described. Story can trump facts because they humanize the problem. As a nurse leader, you can talk to staff about how many patient falls occur each month on a unit, and try to summon a sense of urgency for initiative such as patient rounding. You may find that it is much more powerful to take one patient situation where there was a bad outcome from a fall. You can tell the story of how the fall impacted that patient’s life. At the conclusion of the story present the information about the number of falls are occurring on the unit each month.

I have always loved reading the biographies of famous leaders from all walks of life. What is important in these stories are the reminders about the ups and downs that happen in all of our lives. I have often shared a story told to me by one of my mentors about the mistakes she made in her first year as a nurse leader. That story had a powerful influence on my development. It was so hard to believe that the beloved nursing leader was almost fired from her first position. As leaders, it is important to give staff encouragement during difficult times. Story can be excellent way to do this by reminding us that our professional and leadership development is a journey.

Key Elements of the Effective Use of Stories

Douglas Ready, in his article on leadership storytelling, offers some excellent guidance about the components of effective stories.

Effective stories are context specific and fit the topic that is being discussed.
Effective stories consider the position of the staff member and their career stage.
Effective stories are told by respected role models.
Effective stories have drama and draw the listener’s attention.
Effective stories have high learning value and are a call to change behavior.

Through the effective use of story, leaders can both build strong cultures and connect with staff at personal level. Andrew Stanton in his Ted Talk points out that hearing someone’s story can help us to care in a way that few other things do. So the next time, you want to share an important point and want that point to stick – consider using a story.

Read to Lead

Stanton, A. (2012) Ted Talk How to Tell a Story

Simmons, A. (2001). The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence and Persuasion through the Art of Story Telling. New York: Perseus Publishing.