I come from a long line of storytellers.  My Memphis-born grandma could at age 80 still hold a room of small children (and adults) in a spell.  One afternoon as a young mother, she tucked three small children in for nap, put on her trainers and walked three blocks in the sweltering heat to a corner grocery.  In a small metal cooler housed at the entrance, she pulled a bottle of Coke from the ice, and drank its entirety why she waited to pay the nickel.  She walked back home refreshed and ready for a rowdy afternoon with her kids.  It would be an appalling action today to leave three children home alone (and probably illegal), but I understood her perfectly.  Somehow her words painted pictures of people and times previously unknown to me and forged an understanding, a connection to that past, those people, and their realities.   It is certainly not just my ancestors who loved to tell stories. It is as ancient and human as any of our collective practices.  There is a great deal of research on the importance of storytelling, but we need only to look around to see how present it is our society: books, movies, and our collective obsession with internet personalities and reality television are all examples.  We are deeply interested in others’ narratives. But how does this help us with transformative learning?

Remember Mezirow, the father of Transformative Learning Theory, from our last blog post?  He tells us that transformation is about being open to others’ viewpoints, reflecting on their viewpoints, and then looking at what we believe and how we came to believe it.  He writes: “Transformative Learning, especially when it involves subjective reframing, is often an intensely threatening emotional experience in which we become aware of both the assumptions undergirding our ideas and those supporting our emotional responses to the need to change.”  Subjective reframing is our process of looking at someone else’s narrative and thinking about how our own assumptions influence our reaction, so narratives that help us understand and connect to our emotions like those we find in stories propel us forward in our process.

In our technical age, storytelling has taken on new meaning in our personal lives, but also in the workplace.  Integrating storytelling into training and mentoring can be accomplished in many ways.  Here are some suggestions:

• Round-tables: I lead a virtual round table with my direct reports each week. The very name “round-table” comes from the story of Sir Arthur’s knights and the idea that at the round-table there is no hierarchical power.   I ask the members of my team to share their experiences, their stories of working in the field.  All of the ideas and stories are relevant, and hearing what others’ encountered and their interpretations opens a chance for reflection and discussion.
• Case Studies: If you are looking for a more constructed approach, case studies can have the same impact.
• Videos: If you are fortunate enough to have access to video examples of the work you do (or the ability to create them), then this is a compelling method.  I have used videos of classrooms in higher education to assist both myself and other educators.  It is amazing when  watching someone else perform the work, how easy it is to recognize yourself and see where you may be held back by a belief or habit.

It is equally important to help create an environment of authenticity.  How helpful is a round-table discussion if the participants think they need to mask the truth of who they are or what they experienced?  The leader of the group can greatly influence this process by telling authentic stories herself and not falling into the trap of only sharing stories that fit the corporate “answer.”   Jo Tyler describes this in her article, “Charting the Course: How Storytelling Can Foster Communicative Learning in the Workplace” stating that “The practitioner’s willingness to stand in authentic relationship to a difficult story of her own is what helps to assure participants that there will be no effort to recast their stories with a glossier version more neatly aligned with the organization’s preferred, espoused story.”  Some additional helps on this front include the following:

• Creating ground rules for the exchange, so both storytellers and listeners know what roles they play.
• Allowing time for reflection after hearing others’ stories.
• Having participants share in pairs or small groups to maximize listening and connection.
• Creating follow-up on ideas or problems raised, so the exercise is valuable for both the growth of the individual and the team or organization.

Ultimately, our narratives, those we hold in our minds and those we tell others, help to define us, but they can also help to redefine our points of view.

 

For more information:

Mezirow, J., & Associates (2000).  Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Taylor, J. A.  (2009). Charting the course: How storytelling can foster communicative learning in the workplace. In J. Mezirow, E. Taylor & Associates (Eds.), Transformative learning in practice (pp.136-147).  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.