I
have just enrolled in a new class. This one is called "Leadership
Communication". Whereas my last class focused on the managerial side of
leadership, this one will focus less on the "doing" and more on the
"being" of leadership. In order for a leader to inspire others, they
must be able to effectively communicate.
This
first week has focused on the art of storytelling. When I think of storytelling
from a leadership/inspiration perspective, I always think of two things:
pastors and motivational speakers. They are often one in the same. I have never
truly considered how stories play into leadership roles in other organizations
though so this is new territory for me. I have never held a professional job
outside of the military. For this week's blog, I have been tasked with
describing a common story in my organization and discuss the implications that
it has on my organization. My current organization (other than just saying
"the Army") is the United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC). I
actually just had to go have a discussion with my former boss and ask what
common story we have here amongst recruiters. What we came up with is more of a
misconception than a story. There is a public perception that Army recruiters
lie. Though that isn't a story, it led to an interesting train of thoughts. (By
the way, it may have been the case in the past that recruiters did lie to
applicants in order to sell the Army but that changed several years ago. We are
on organization with deeply rooted pride and integrity and we have watchdog
programs that prevent that.)
A
common "story" that we tell within the organization is probably one
that is told in just about every organization. We all (or most of us, at least)
love to tell our big fish stories. We always seem to try to outdo one another
with our stories of bravery and adversity. We always try to talk about how
awesome we are when it comes to places we've visited, people we have met,
recognition we have received, marksmanship scores, physical fitness records,
etc. So maybe our common story is a lie after all. This doesn't mean that we
lie to applicants. It means that we lie to one another. What I have observed
this doing within our organization is building what I would describe as a
friendly competition. These big fish stories motivate us to be seen - to
actually be observed - outdoing those that tell them. For example, when my
coworker claims that he can run the Central Park Loop in 45 minutes, I want to
show him that I can do it in 44:59. When someone says that they are going to
write four contracts this month, we are inspired to write five. These little
white lies that are so common here in my office actually have a positive effect
on our work ethic and advances the production of our center. But you have to
stop and ask - if it is okay for us to tell this white lies to ourselves, is it
actually okay to tell them to those outside of the organization? This is now
actually a common question on job interviews. The answer, not surprisingly, is
that though white lies and tall tales are okay within the context of day to day
operations within an organization, they violate trust with clients. The only
acceptable response to dealing with those outside of the organization is
complete transparency (Pelczarski, 2014).
When
dealing with those outside of the organization, there is a very appropriate
place, however, for these stories. It isn't with telling them, though. It is
with receiving them. We need to be willing to actively listen and accept the
stories (the white lies) of those outside of our organization. We have an
obligation to interpret them for what they are and extrapolate their needs from
what they tell us. "Our
natural empathy and avidity for stories ensure that throughout the
organization, listeners are ready to give these a sympathetic hearing"
(Gorry & Westbrook, 2011, p 577). By actively listening to and accepting
the stories of our customers, Gorry and Westbrook point out that we are able to
show them that we are actually attentive to their needs.
I
am curious what stories may circulate around other organizations. I am sure
that there are recruiting centers within USAREC that have common stories other
than just white lies. Maybe that is just the culture here. But even with that, though
I may not have directly answered the question posed for this blog assignment, I
believe that I have at least acted within the spirit of the assignment. Think
about it for yourselves, though. Do you see big fish tales as being something
that can motivate those within your work center?
Gorry, G. A., &
Westbrook, R. A. (2011). Can you hear me now? learning from customer
stories Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.08.002
Pelczarski, K. (2014). Responding
to tough interview questions. Park Ridge: Society of Tribologists and
Lubrication Engineers.
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