MODERN MARKETING
facilitator told a group of about
30 bankers that she was going to
read out a scenario. Pointing to
a large digital clock, she said, ‘As
you listen to this scenario, please
write down the time on the clock
when you feel the characters have
stepped over the line ethically
for the first time’. She then
proceeded to tell the story which,
as it unfolded, became more and
more ethically suspect. When the
facilitator had finished, she asked
each person to read out the time
they’d written down and plotted
them all on a timeline. There was a
cluster of times three-quarters of
the way along the line, but most of
the times were scattered all along
the line. Different people see the
world differently.
Now, we influence people all the
time, whether it’s getting our
kids to go to bed or encouraging
someone to give to a charity or
convincing upper management
to fund a project. And as
professionals, we’ve all learned a
range of skills and techniques to
get our jobs done, which invariably
require influence and persuasion.
We’re expected to use these
skills. But our efforts to persuade
become manipulation when our
intent is primarily self-interested.
Imagine your job is to train frontline employees to give great
customer service. As a teacher,
you’ve honed your skills over many
years to help your students in the
most effective way – you work hard
to change how your students think
and act. This is not manipulation
because your intent is not to serve
your own ends. Rather, it is to get
the best possible result for the
students. The same is true of an
ethical business leader who uses
stories to influence and inspire:
they should be doing all they can
to improve the lives of the people
around them.
What about those times when a
leader needs to do something
that’s good for the business but
bad for an individual, such as firing
an employee? Well, if a sacking is
explained, say using a clear story,
so that the person knows the real
reason behind their departure,
and it’s done with respect, then
everyone can maintain their dignity.
Here are some practices that
will help ensure your storytelling
efforts remain ethical:
In a nutshell, I’m suggesting a
humanity-based approach to
ethics. Make it your priority to do
what’s good for other people. And
talk about this principle. Simply
talking about ethics in storytelling
helps us hold each other to
account. We all want there to be
consistency between what we say
and what we do. Telling people
what you think is ethical is a great
first step.
1. Tell stories as you believe they
happened.
2. Tell people when you’ve made up
a story.
3. Don’t tell others’ stories as if
they are your own.
4. Protect confidences.
5. Don’t put people in situations
where they feel compelled to tell a
story they would not normally tell.
Shawn Callahan is the founder of
Anecdote Pty Ltd. This article is
adapted from Shawn’s new book Putting
Stories to Work: Mastering Business
Storytelling. Visit www.anecdote.com
July 2016
ModernBusiness
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