Example Reflection – Story Telling

Challenges and selection - We see stories everywhere. We listen to stories, we tell stories —

they are one of humanity’s universals across cultures. We revolve around transmitting

information and experiences, whether that is around a campfire, a table or an idea. Stories

have the power to change our beliefs and behaviours, and they are one of the greatest tools

we have for engaging audiences around complex issues such as climate change, migration,

and other social issues.

Application- So, you might stay up all night curled up with your favourite book because your

brain loves a good story — but how does this relate to innovation?

Within your organization, storytelling can act as a carrier for messages, assist in reinforcing

cultural values or transform into a powerful persuasive tool. There is extensive research on

the benefits of organisational storytelling, as sociologist Yiannis Gabriel notes, “Organisation

and management studies, no less than consumer studies, cultural studies, media and

communication studies, oral history, as well as substantial segments of legal studies,

accounting, and studies of the professions and science, have enthusiastically adopted the idea

that, in creating a meaningful universe, people resort to stories….stories make experience

meaningful, stories connect us with one another; stories make the characters come alive,

stories provide an opportunity for a renewed sense of organizational community.”

At UNHCR, storytelling is a critical tool for making innovation accessible to our colleagues,

developing a shared understanding of innovation, and creating a path for organizational

change. More importantly, storytelling can help colleagues imagine themselves in similar

experiences to the people who are already innovating, and therefore, build empathy for a

character they may not have otherwise related to.

For me, the wonderful thing about stories is that they are not only powerful cognitive tools

but they can be malleable based on your challenges and how you want to create change

within your organization. Organizational stories can be used to persuade, educate, reassure,

inform, explain, connect, construct meaning, or simplify.

Insight and Approach -  Stories generate questions and questions expand the breadth and  depth of stories, leading to lots of innovative thoughts and ideas. Storytelling becomes an  important tool for feedback, which is the basis of the iterative process of prototyping that  lead to solutions. Stories and prototypes are intertwined, explaining and repositioning  experiences through a multitude of potential interpretations, which allow researchers  to test new solutions before committing exclusively to a particular policy, program, or  service.

