Stories Bring Culture to Life

This is an important time in history to pay attention to your organizational culture. The temperature has been turned up because of polarization that creates division and tension among employees on a variety of fronts: political; diversity, equity, and inclusion; economic; technological; climate and sustainability; and more.

Organizational culture is a powerful driver of employee well-being, company performance, and long-term success. A strong culture can be the “invisible tapestry” that weaves people together to help a company achieve its mission and vision.

Storytelling is one way to make culture come alive. Frances Frei and Anne Morriss describe in a Harvard Business Review article how storytelling is powerful in connecting people and inspiring them to work together. They cite anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson: “Our species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.” Stories can explain the change, provide a vision for what the future will look like, and communicate what matters most to the organization.

CREATE A CORPORATE CULTURE BOOK

Zappos, the world’s largest online shoe store, has a history of publishing a cultural book that can be purchased on Amazon. It is a compilation of stories, testimonials, and insights from employees, management, and even customers reflecting Zappos’ core values, work environment, and company ethos. Some of the themes have included focus on customer service, core values, and employee engagement. The book communicates critical messages both internally with employees and externally to potential employees, customers, and suppliers.

In my research for “Leading with Wisdom: Sage Advice from 100 Experts,” I discovered that many organizations self-publish a culture book. A senior leader at a pediatrics clinic in Salt Lake City told me, “I see one of my roles is to solidify culture, so it extends beyond the president and me.” She brought together positive stories of how all the stakeholders in the success of the clinic treated each other, including patients, doctors, nurses, and administrative staff. From a compilation of these stories, a book was published as a powerful narrative for the positive impact of treating everyone with dignity and respect. This leader continued, “We have books in meeting rooms for patients to review while they are waiting. To set the tone at meetings, we start by reading a story from the book. This is our mission moment.”

If you want to change the culture, change the stories you tell. If you want to reinforce the culture, storytelling can bring it to life.