Example Reflection – Story Telling

Challenge:

The recent times are certainly of an unprecedented demeanor which was ubiquitous in my  internship experience. I interned as a growth executive in a fintech start-up   which primarily  deals with airline invoice procurement and streamlining indirect taxation operations  through automated platforms. In recent times the airline industry has taken a hit due to less  travels affecting the business revenue in a significant way. In such times, the sales team was  struggling to meet their targets and the existing clients did not do much to add to the ever- decreasing revenue.

So, in a time like this where the work was also getting hectic due to lockdowns and people  not being able to communicate freely on online platforms, it was a smart move by the CEO  of the firm to go for motivational sessions everyday first thing in the morning. In this session  one employee was chosen randomly as the champion of the day and he/she would present  to the team. The session rolled out, people started following this practice of sharing a  motivational video which was more or less of the same content: hardcore workouts, sports  theme and people struggling, fighting hard to get to their goals and so on.

To this, I had a different view as I saw work as not a duty but an expression of the exuberant  life that blossoms within each of us. And I had to take a different approach of motivating my  team, which was, story-telling.

Selection:

My selection of story telling as a tool to motivate the team is from this notion that a story  will give a clear picture of the message that I am trying to convey than directly conveying  the message itself. And story is a beautiful way to express the message as it gives the  listener freedom to harness the value of the message through his imagination and  influences him/her to respond in a particular way.  Moreover, story telling would help the  team give them the necessary break from their devices as they would be focusing on  listening than watching the screen as they do for 8-10 hours every day.

The biggest factor why I chose story telling as a tool lies in the theme of the message itself,  of what I was trying to convey to my team mates.

The message was that, work is not something which should be seen as a duty, it is rather an  expression of the life that we are. The modern times has made us goal-oriented which has  left us focusing on the goal more, instead of the work that we are doing at present. And this  leads to frustrations as goals are not met and results in reduced productivity.

But if we are joyful by our own nature of conscious living, we find ourselves pulsating with  energy that finds expression in the work that we do. And that when realized can lead to  profoundness of activity.

So, storytelling was one way to strike a chord in tune with the current reality to get that  rippling effect of exuberance from the team mates.

Application:

So, to strike the right chord I used a passive character and three main characters. These  three main characters were three different persona of individuals which we find in every  workplace. One was quite of the nature of living in the past, the second one was absolute  goal-oriented (living in the future) and the third was a unique kind which we shall discover  later in this report.

In this story on one particular day, a wanderer who was curiously venturing the forest came  across a large group of workers busy in building a temple. He approaches these three  individuals and asks them all the same question, “what are you doing?” And each has a  different response.

I used this approach of using responses of each character to resonate more or appeal more  to my team mates as these are typical reactions and anyone can empathize more aptly.

Insight & Approach:

In the story the first worker responds to this question of what he was doing in quite a  negative way as he was quite frustrated in carrying the big stones as he had an unpleasant  past experience of breaking his back while doing so. So, he reacts to the question: “can’t you  see I am trying to lift this heavy rock trying not to break my back!” In my workplace I  witnessed people heavily impacted by their past weekly performance which took a huge toll  on their present work. So, I used this to cater to majority of people in my team.

The second worker was more of a future-goal oriented personality who responded to the  same question like this: “I am trying to earn a living here, please don’t waste my time here.”  This was also a typical response in my firm not just confined to the team mates but also can  be extended to the clients that we were facing as most of our clients were from airline  industry and they were busy in formulating new business models to cater to future deficits  already at place due to reduced travel activity.

Now the third worker had a different aura about him, as he was cheerfully carrying big  heavy stones on his back like they were light bags of wool and singing melodious tunes to  himself. He joyfully responds, “I am trying to build a magnificent temple in the middle of this  forest.” This is the central character of the story who can be seen as the ideal person to be  working in any firm. And this doesn’t mean a radical transformation, just a joyful mind and a  necessary awareness of the moment, that’s all.

The story was well appreciated by the CEO and he also replied that he was now in a happier  mood after listening to the story. The team mates also gave positive feedback about the  same.

This experience truly enhanced my perceptions about the mind and energy aspects of any  person. And story telling is a great tool because it makes people believe the necessary  aspects and relate to themselves in a profound manner thus creating a significant impact.

And the result was evident as people were more cheerful in my team. We also had a virtual  dinner session with the team late in the evening which invigorated a sense of togetherness,  key to the healthy functioning of any firm.

