Six Perspectives on the Role of Story in Creating Flourishing Organisational Futures

Abstract

Recently storytelling has gained ground not only as a communications tool but also as a leadership imperative. It is important for leaders to understand and employ story applications across their work. In this chapter, I outline six perspectives on how story can support more flourishing organisational futures and pair them with three major waves of how we can focus our work with stories within rising complexity. These six perspectives indicate practical business applications. The benefits to the wise use of story are more effective, connected and cohesive individuals, groups and full systems. Story is one of the major “attractor factors” in the working world, whether it is packaged as vision, mission, values, ways of working or culture. It is alive and well, and every organisational system is a mirror of its impact.