N is for Narrative: Rewriting the Story of Leadership.

“Narratives are like rivers: they take the shape of their banks, but they carve the land as they flow.” Ben Okri.

Narrative is how humans make sense of complexity - and in leadership, it’s how culture is shaped. The stories leaders tell (and live) influence identity, strategy, and team cohesion.

Research in narrative identity and organisational storytelling shows that reframing the story can unlock resilience, innovation, and alignment.

We worked with a CEO whose team was stuck in a “survival” narrative - everything was reactive, urgent, scarce. By helping them craft a new story - one of growth, learning, and possibility - they shifted the emotional tone of the entire organisation.

Actionable Insight:

• Audit your leadership narrative: What story are you telling - explicitly and implicitly?  How are you ‘being’?

  
  

• Invite your team to co-author the next chapter.  Create a future-back timeline.

  
  

• Use storytelling in strategy sessions and all-staff briefings to build emotional connection.

  
  

• Build team capability in using your ‘articulate’ voice (VoicePrint).

  
  

Why it matters: Narrative shapes reality. When leaders rewrite the story, they reshape the future.

Shamir, B., & Eilam, G. (2005). “What’s your story?” A life-stories approach to authentic leadership development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 395–417. 

Gabriel, Y. (2000). Storytelling in organizations: Facts, fictions, and fantasies. Oxford University Press.