Collaborative leadership starts with ‘Once Upon a Time…’

By Rob May, CEO ABE Global. Fellow of The Institute of Leadership.

Stories are a powerful tool that leaders can use for influencing collaborative behaviour because they engage, evoke, contextualize, resonate, transcend, and motivate. Recognising the persuasive potential of stories can enable leaders to craft messages that resonate deeply and drive meaningful collaboration...

One of the great challenges of leadership is bringing together an organisation’s people so that everyone feels that they share a common purpose and are working towards shared objectives. 

This collective mindset cannot be conjured-up by a mission statement or a business plan. It starts with a story. 

As a leader, stories are one of your most potent tools for influencing behaviour because they engage multiple cognitive processes simultaneously. They captivate attention, evoke emotions, and create vivid mental images, making information more meaningful and relatable. Through the characters and plotlines scattered in your company’s past, or the driving beliefs and personal experiences that provided the catalyst for your start-up journey, stories offer a context for understanding complex ideas. More than that, simple narratives provide a framework for conveying your organisation’s exclusive self-image, confirming your morals, ambitions, your mastery of the difficulties and setbacks encountered along the way, confirming your energy, resourcefulness and self-confidence, and above all, defining your corporate identity.

Last year, ABE hit an important milestone as we celebrated our 50th anniversary, and I seized upon this golden opportunity to share our story with the world and to remind staff of our journey. On a day in February, in 1973, as the misty rain veiled London's streets, blending with the city's muted hues, outside, the umbrellas bloomed like colorful flowers amidst the drizzle, but inside the rain tapped at the window, lending a rhythmic backdrop to the serious discussions taking place over steaming cups of tea (being a British exam board, all of our stories start with the weather!). 

A group of learned academics were sitting down to what seemed like a fairly ordinary meeting with business leaders, who were growing frustrated about the managerial skills gap amongst their managers dispersed across the far corners of their global operations… what could the clever academics propose? Finally, one of them, Dr Lyndon Jones struck upon an idea for a new membership community of management practice. By the end of the meeting the Association of Business Executives was formed. And outside, it had stopped raining.

In the months that followed, politicians and business leaders quickly got behind the new organisation. Macmillan Publishing lended its heft by renaming its magazine Education and Training to Business Executive, becoming the first official journal of ABE. As the new company focused on management skills in the supply chains of the global south, it became apparent that a bigger mission was emerging. In 1977, ABE ran its first exams in Hong Kong and Singapore, to codify newly-acquired management skills in recognisable and transferable credentials, but as momentum swept across Ghana, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, Kenya, and Nigeria, it was clear that ABE wasn’t just serving the training needs of corporations, its affordable programmes and qualifications were helping to lift people and communities out of poverty, providing life-changing skills in low-and-middle-income countries, and giving women financial independence and careers. And so ABE grew into this grander mission, and it’s one that still resonates with ABE today in our shared vision of an open, inclusive, global market economy where everyone benefits from responsible globalisation and trade. How do I know? Because, In a recent staff pulse survey, ABE scored most highly on clearly defining objectives that are understood across the company, fostering unity around a common purpose, staff retention, and demonstrating our values. Our internal shorthand for this belief system is The ABE Way.

Through an engaging story, our staff understand that their role is to help build trust, resilience and reassurance in global business interactions leading to greater equity within and between nations, and we know from our collective years of experience that this can be achieved through empowering people to transform their lives through gaining high-quality business, leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

Forming and articulating a clear understanding of your organisation’s DNA doesn’t mean that you have to become trapped by the traditions of your past, but it provides staff with a sense of connection at a very fundamental level. Without this connection, collaborative leadership is always going to be difficult to achieve. Rather than dictating directives, collaborative leaders empower individuals to contribute their unique skills and ideas in an inclusive culture of collective ownership. Consensus-building and consensus-driven decision-making can be prioritised when staff are all working with a unified vision.

Authentic internal stories about the road your company has travelled can also play powerfully to your customers; some corporate stories have even made it to the cinema. Nike has a long history dating back to its founding in 1964, and the company often celebrates iconic moments and products from its past. The 2023 film ‘Air’, told the story of the origin of Air Jordan, a line of basketball shoes, and the management decisions that ended up disrupting an entire industry’s revenue model, giving athletes an equitable stake in endorsements. 

So, as a leader how do you connect staff and stakeholders to your company’s story?

• Firstly, tell stories that captivate attention. The narrative structure, with its beginning, middle, and end creates a natural rhythm that draws in the audience. Every company has its ‘big bang moment’ and unpacking yours will spark intrigue as stories command focus in a world inundated with information. This captivation is vital for conveying messages effectively.
   
• Secondly, stories evoke emotions. Unlike the dry facts or statistics in your business plan, (necessary, but not really that inspiring) stories have the power to elicit empathy, joy, courage, and more. When individuals emotionally connect with a story's characters or events, they become more receptive to its underlying messages. Emotions not only enhance memory retention but also influence decision-making processes. Every company is doing something heroic – who is the hero of your company’s story?
   
• Thirdly, your stories should appeal to a sense of identity and values. Humans are inherently social beings, and narratives help shape our collective identity by reinforcing cultural norms, morals, and beliefs. When individuals encounter stories that align with their worldview or aspirations, they are more likely to internalise and adopt the behaviours depicted.
   
• Finally, keep your story alive. Whether through internal communications, town halls, or social media, we now have plenty of opportunities for storyline reproduction. Consistently reminding staff of the centrality of your ‘Why? Chromosome’ helps to contextualise trickier messages and foster collaboration.

Collaborative leaders are those which are able to bridge the gap between rationality and emotionality. While facts and logic appeal to the intellect, it’s emotions that drive collective action. By weaving together facts and emotional experiences, stories create a compelling narrative arc that motivates individuals to engage. 

As part of the Institute of Leadership, ABE is committed to driving great leadership practice everywhere. Does your organisation offer some great leadership initiatives?  We would love to hear your story.