Getting Management’s Support through Storytelling

Challenge

I work in the Corporate Strategy department of a public agency that has a mission to build a people- centred land transport system. While our country does have one of the better land transport system  in the world, commuters are not without complaints. As such, we face enormous pressure to continue  improving connectivity and travel experience. With more on the plate, the first reaction of many group  directors was: ‘Give me more manpower, and I will build it for you!’ The number of manpower  projected stands at 9,500, a big increase from the current 6,500. But the reality is that the public  service is facing resource constraint, in particular, a lack of engineers. We do not have the resources  to hire more manpower; and even if we do, where do we find that many engineers?

Now, this is an agency with more than 20 group directors, and most of them have been with the  organisation for more than 20 years. They have been getting what they want, and they don’t seem to  be ready to review the number of manpower projected. We needed to get them in the frame of mind  that we no longer have the same luxury and that it is imperative to review our existing productivity  and capability.

Selection

We soon realized that this was a wicked problem – not just because we were dealing with  management, but because it required us to study how productive and capable our fellow colleagues  were, how supported our colleagues felt by our management and work environment, how clear our  organisation was with our priorities, and so on. It was not just to solve the problem of 9,500 but to  create a cause with our management to relook at the whole ecosystem of how we work.

There was a management retreat coming up where the management would learn that they were not  going to get the 9,500 they wanted. But we knew it could not be just an announcement. There would  be disagreement and tension upon learning this ‘bad’ news. We needed it to be as compelling and  convincing as possible; we needed the management to understand why they could not be given that  many manpower; we needed the management to see for themselves that they might not even need  that many manpower. As such, in order to sell this challenge, we decided to tell stories to add  emotional connection and create moment of reflection with our management.

Application & Insights

In order to tell a good story, we needed to gather stories. To start, we interviewed 20 colleagues from  various departments to find out the ‘what is’ and their unarticulated needs. It was immensely helpful  in helping us to reframe our resource challenge. We heard stories about how in order to ensure safety,  a staff would act as the checker and another, the checker of the checker. That not only duplicated  resources, but also gave relatively less satisfaction to those two staff. We also heard stories about how  a lot of time spent was on searching for the right person in the right department for input, not just  because the organisation was so huge, but also many times, they refused to take the responsibility. In  addition, the interviewees were also asked to do journey mapping of their work life for a week,  charting out the time spent on each activity of the day along with their feelings.

At the end of the interviews and synthesis of findings, we identified a few opportunities, including  reviewing organisational structure, leadership and culture, improving work processes and knowledge  management, and building capability and adopting technology in customer engagement and service  delivery. Our sensing was that our colleagues could have done a lot more if they were appropriately  supported by culture and processes – they did not require more manpower to share the workload.  Those were the stories we needed to let management hear, and to agree to undertake those  opportunities, rather than simply asking for more manpower.

At the management retreat, we showed management a video with sound bites from the interviews  and pictures of their journey maps. These stories were added in between the hard facts and data that  management wanted to add emphasis on the resource challenge that we were facing. To be honest,  we were worried about their reactions at the following discussion segment.

The management was given time and space to address any agreement or disagreement. It was  structured in four aspects (leadership & culture, technology, work processes, performance and  reward) to give focus to their conversations. To our surprise, they were receptive to even the harsher  comments (read: ‘My group director has no respect at all!’) we quoted from our interviewees! They  shared openly how it was timely to take a strategic pause and relook at how internally, as an  organisation, we could improve ourselves. (In fact, as of now, we are already going to kick start ten  priority projects that leaders would undertake as part of continuous improvement for the  organisation.)

At the end of discussion, we wanted them to rethink the number of manpower they really needed. To  help them visualize the shift, we created a life-size number line from 4,000 to 10,000. To start,  management was to stand at their respective current staff strength, then move to their initial ‘new’  number that they requested for, before moving to the revised number after they had heard the stories  and resource challenge. Again, to our surprise, many of them opted to reduce their numbers!

Approach

The insights gathered through the interview and journey mapping helped us to put forward a  compelling story to our management, and helped to reframe the challenge. From a mere number  game, it was turned into a strategic review on our organisation. As importantly, we were one step  further in reframing our management’s mindset and creating empathy in them.

This is definitely a good approach to adopt to ignite and unite people, especially for a big organisation  like ours. As we embark on the priority projects to improve our organisation, we will need to sell this  challenge to our fellow colleagues. We could continue using storytelling tool to share with others the  ‘what is’, to open their minds to the ‘what if’, to engage them to the ‘what wows’, and to work with  them on the ‘what works’.


Getting Management ’s Support through Storytelling Challenge I work in the Corporate Strategy department of a public agency that has a mission to build a people- centred land transport system . While our country does have one of the better land transport system in the world , commuters are not without complaints . As such , we face enormous pressure to continue improving connectivity and travel experience . With more on the plate , the first reaction of many group directors was : ‘ Give me more manpower , and I will build it for you ! ’ The number of manpower projected stands at 9,500 , a big increase from the current 6,500 . But the reality is that the public service is facing resource constraint , in particular , a lack of engineers . We do not have the resources to hire more manpower ; and even if we do , where do we find that many engineers ? Now , this is an agency with more than 20 group directors , and most of them have been with the organisation for more than 20 years . They have been getting what they want , and they do n’t seem to be ready to review the number of manpower projected . We needed to get them in the frame of mind that we no longer have the same luxury and that it is imperative to review our existing productivity and capability . Selection We soon realized that this was a wicked problem – not just because we were dealing with management , but because it required us to study how productive and capable our fellow colleagues were , how supported our colleagues felt by our management and work environment , how clear our organisation was with our priorities , and so on . It was not just to solve the problem of 9,500 but to create a cause with our management to relook at the whole ecosystem of how we work . There was a management retreat coming up where the management would learn that they were not going to get the 9,500 they wanted . But we knew it could not be just an announcement . There would be disagreement and tension upon learning this ‘ bad ’ news . We needed it to be as compelling and convincing as possible ; we needed the management to understand why they could not be given that many manpower ; we needed the management to see for themselves that they might not even need that many manpower . As such , in order to sell this challenge , we decided to tell stories to add emotional connection and create moment of reflection with our management . Application & Insights In order to tell a good story , we needed to gather stories . To start , we interviewed 20 colleagues from various departments to find out the ‘ what is ’ and their unarticulated needs . It was immensely helpful in helping us to reframe our resource challenge . We heard stories about how in order to ensure safety , a staff would act as the checker and another , the checker of the checker . That not only duplicated resources , but also gave relatively less satisfaction to those two staff . We also heard stories about how a lot of time spent was on searching for the right person in the right department for input , not just because the organisation was so huge , but also many times , they refused to take the responsibility . In addition , the interviewees were also asked to do journey mapping of their work life for a week , charting out the time spent on each activity of the day along with their feelings . At the end of the interviews and synthesis of findings , we identified a few opportunities , including reviewing organisational structure , leadership and culture , improving work processes and knowledge management , and building capability and adopting technology in customer engagement and service delivery . Our sensing was that our colleagues could have done a lot more if they were appropriately supported by culture and processes – they did not require more manpower to share the workload . Those were the stories we needed to let management hear , and to agree to undertake those opportunities , rather than simply asking for more manpower . At the management retreat , we showed management a video with sound bites from the interviews and pictures of their journey maps . These stories were added in between the hard facts and data that management wanted to add emphasis on the resource challenge that we were facing . To be honest , we were worried about their reactions at the following discussion segment . The management was given time and space to address any agreement or disagreement . It was structured in four aspects ( leadership & culture , technology , work processes , performance and reward ) to give focus to their conversations . To our surprise , they were receptive to even the harsher comments ( read : ‘ My group director has no respect at all ! ’ ) we quoted from our interviewees ! They shared openly how it was timely to take a strategic pause and relook at how internally , as an organisation , we could improve ourselves . ( In fact , as of now , we are already going to kick start ten priority projects that leaders would undertake as part of continuous improvement for the organisation . ) At the end of discussion , we wanted them to rethink the number of manpower they really needed . To help them visualize the shift , we created a life - size number line from 4,000 to 10,000 . To start , management was to stand at their respective current staff strength , then move to their initial ‘ new ’ number that they requested for , before moving to the revised number after they had heard the stories and resource challenge . Again , to our surprise , many of them opted to reduce their numbers ! Approach The insights gathered through the interview and journey mapping helped us to put forward a compelling story to our management , and helped to reframe the challenge . From a mere number game , it was turned into a strategic review on our organisation . As importantly , we were one step further in reframing our management ’s mindset and creating empathy in them . This is definitely a good approach to adopt to ignite and unite people , especially for a big organisation like ours . As we embark on the priority projects to improve our organisation , we will need to sell this challenge to our fellow colleagues . We could continue using storytelling tool to share with others the ‘ what is ’ , to open their minds to the ‘ what if ’ , to engage them to the ‘ what wows ’ , and to work with them on the ‘ what works ’ .