“Disruptive Story-Work” as an Intervention for Organizational Transformation

Abstract

As most organizations strive for a sustainable growth in an era of constant disruption, some of them fall into a paradoxical mythology, the one that they are capable of keeping control and ensure safety for their business as they grow toward the future, the same way they did in the past. It is inevitable that a different approach is needed to detach themselves from the paradox that this mythology provokes and move toward a new narrative which reflects the multidirectional forces of the environment that they operate. In this chapter, such a supportive approach is deployed. It consists of a serious game concept combined with a first-person story development, where disruptive interventions are used as ignitions and catalysts for the individual and collective future stories to emerge. Additionally, it addresses the needs and curiosities of the key players to take a courageous and influential role in the future stories that they create inconsiderably of any blueprint that may exist. This happens also independently of the level of disruption that occurs in the system that they operate. The outcome of this approach is characterized by a high level of emotional engagement and connection among the various members of the organization. In this sense, it becomes the starting point of one being transformed in the present accordingly, and start sensing already that the desired future turns out to be more conceivable to occur. In a paradigm from the corporate learning domain, the abovementioned concepts and methodology have been used and are explained in detail in this chapter. This case study taps into the idea of safely experiencing a disruption in a story-based setting, which inspires people to reveal their creative self fearlessly and liberate their potential for the creation of new future narratives in their area of expertise. The implementation of the “Disruptive Story-Work” method has shown that the newly crafted narratives have a transformational effect. Thus, they could be effectively used as the core elements for a strategic approach toward a desired future for the organization as long as the individual stories are respected and woven into the projected future.