STORYTELLING OUR WAY TO GLOBAL LEADERSHIP     CHALLENGE     In my current role as a tertiary education program advisor, I help run a leadership and global  citizenship program for students - called the Global Leadership Program. The program is  quite complex and as such, we can have a difficult time explaining, or pitching, the real value  of the program to students. We find that students only begin to understand this value once  they have started undertaking our workshops or get involved in some of the practical  activities that we run. We believe this value to be cross-cultural competence, leadership  skills, confidence and employability. The complexity of the program can be a barrier for  students and some of them do not even enrol into their first workshop after orientation.  The challenge that we face is threefold as we need to get students to understand (a) what  the program is (b) how the program runs and (c) what value the program holds for them.  Our staff communicate with students face-to-face in orientation sessions to try to explain all  of these things, but we find that only about 50% of the students that attend will end up  participating in the program. Our challenge is to address the reasons why this is happening  and to increase participation.     SELECTION    The tool that I have selected is storytelling, as I believe one of our major challenges with  students is relevant communication. In particular, I believe the orientation session could be  a place where we employ storytelling to inspire the students to join the program.  Storytelling is a tool whereby you construct information in a format that relays a story, or  you tell a story that speaks to a bigger picture. Storytelling is useful because humans enjoy  stories and find them compelling, and as a result, people are more likely to get people to  listen to what you have to say. As Sergio Cruz, Global Leadership Development Director,  Mars Inc, stated, “A good story, at its essence, has logic, emotional connection and a larger  purpose”. I have selected this tool because I think storytelling would be useful in our  orientation session to connect our students to the larger purpose of why they should be in  the program. Further, I know that we have many stories of student success that could be  shared with them to inspire them to be part of the program. I also think that we could use  storytelling to look at some of the challenges in our world and how students can become  part of the solution to these. This relates to Sergio’s point about selling the challenge,  helping the audience understand how the current state is more dangerous than any  possibility out there and make the challenge their own.     APPLICATION    In order to use storytelling to address the challenge of pitching the program to students, the  following process was undertaken:

1. I delivered a short presentation to the team on the importance and allure of

storytelling and how we could benefit from using it in our program, particularly the  orientation session

2. The team decided to get together to review the orientation session and come up

with ways in which we could incorporate storytelling or completely change the  presentation to be a story

3. We decided that we should have a student story at around the mid-point part once

students understand the basic elements of the program

4. As a group we then brainstormed student success stories and ways in which we

could collect or collate this data

5. We created a document with around 15 student success stories that we could use as

case studies for the orientation session

6. We also created a survey where we could collect data for the future to keep

gathering these stories in a more effective way

7. We recruited students who could actually attend the orientation sessions to deliver

their stories of what activities they had completed in the program how the program  had benefited them

8. We provided an outline to the students on why storytelling is important and

guidelines on how to craft their story

9. Finally, the students delivered their stories at the orientation sessions.

The implementation of storytelling in this situation was definitely effective. From our  observations, we could tell that students were really engaged in hearing these firsthand  stories; however, we don’t know whether this will translate into participation as this is  difficult to measure. We could, however, measure participation in a year’s time to see if this  has a had an impact on participation compared to other year’s orientation sessions. I would  say the tool is effective and this was good as the first implementation, however, I think  there are many more ways we could use it.    INSIGHT    There were multiple stages in this process where I felt like I had a-ha! moments. From a  broad perspective, I think using design thinking makes you stop, take stock for a second and  really think about what you are doing. Chances are, if you have a challenge then there is  probably something you are doing wrong or that you could be doing better if you were to  think about it creatively. It makes you stop to think about the human at the end of the  process. If you are willing to use different tools such as storytelling, mindmapping,  visualisation or a learning launch, then you are going to discover what those paint points  are. In this particular challenge, I came to realise that our orientation sessions were  incredibly focused on getting the students to understand the structure of the program,  which although important, is more so from a staff perspective and initially, we need to focus  on inspiring them on why they should be part of the program. It made me reflect, “If I were  a student would I join this program based on the orientation session I’ve just seen, or would  I be bored?”. Using a tool like storytelling made me realise that if we are serious about  addressing challenges, we can solve them creatively.     APPROACH    I believe that using storytelling for this challenge was just a first experiment in how to use  design thinking in business. On a simplistic level, next time I think that we could get more

than one student to attend an orientation, maybe 3 and each of them give a 2-4 minute talk  on their experience, which would better show the diversity of experiences. Further, I think  we could have these stories at the start so that students are engaged from the offset. I  would like to explore using storytelling in the orientation session where the whole session  was a form of story. I think it could be interesting if we explored the state of the world at  the moment, discussing some of the challenges, issues like climate change, ethics of artificial  intelligence and biological warfare, and then involve the students with how this program  will help provide them with the tools to help solve some of these problems. Perhaps we  could turn the orientation session into a story where we explain a challenge, tell the  students they are policymakers and get them to solve the challenge in the end. Along the  way we could address different parts of the program structure and how this would relate to  them solving the problem. The reason I think this could be an interesting idea is because at  the moment, we have kept the orientation session relatively the same and inserted a story  into it. I believe it could be even more effective if we changed the whole structure of the  orientation session to be a story, although I’m not entirely sure how to do this yet. I think  this tool will help me be more creative in how we can meet student needs in the future.


STORYTELLING OUR WAY TO GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE In my current role as a tertiary education program advisor , I help run a leadership and global citizenship program for students - called the Global Leadership Program . The program is quite complex and as such , we can have a difficult time explaining , or pitching , the real value of the program to students . We find that students only begin to understand this value once they have started undertaking our workshops or get involved in some of the practical activities that we run . We believe this value to be cross - cultural competence , leadership skills , confidence and employability . The complexity of the program can be a barrier for students and some of them do not even enrol into their first workshop after orientation . The challenge that we face is threefold as we need to get students to understand ( a ) what the program is ( b ) how the program runs and ( c ) what value the program holds for them . Our staff communicate with students face - to - face in orientation sessions to try to explain all of these things , but we find that only about 50 % of the students that attend will end up participating in the program . Our challenge is to address the reasons why this is happening and to increase participation . SELECTION The tool that I have selected is storytelling , as I believe one of our major challenges with students is relevant communication . In particular , I believe the orientation session could be a place where we employ storytelling to inspire the students to join the program . Storytelling is a tool whereby you construct information in a format that relays a story , or you tell a story that speaks to a bigger picture . Storytelling is useful because humans enjoy stories and find them compelling , and as a result , people are more likely to get people to listen to what you have to say . As Sergio Cruz , Global Leadership Development Director , Mars Inc , stated , “ A good story , at its essence , has logic , emotional connection and a larger purpose ” . I have selected this tool because I think storytelling would be useful in our orientation session to connect our students to the larger purpose of why they should be in the program . Further , I know that we have many stories of student success that could be shared with them to inspire them to be part of the program . I also think that we could use storytelling to look at some of the challenges in our world and how students can become part of the solution to these . This relates to Sergio ’s point about selling the challenge , helping the audience understand how the current state is more dangerous than any possibility out there and make the challenge their own . APPLICATION In order to use storytelling to address the challenge of pitching the program to students , the following process was undertaken : 1 . I delivered a short presentation to the team on the importance and allure of storytelling and how we could benefit from using it in our program , particularly the orientation session 2 . The team decided to get together to review the orientation session and come up with ways in which we could incorporate storytelling or completely change the presentation to be a story 3 . We decided that we should have a student story at around the mid - point part once students understand the basic elements of the program 4 . As a group we then brainstormed student success stories and ways in which we could collect or collate this data 5 . We created a document with around 15 student success stories that we could use as case studies for the orientation session 6 . We also created a survey where we could collect data for the future to keep gathering these stories in a more effective way 7 . We recruited students who could actually attend the orientation sessions to deliver their stories of what activities they had completed in the program how the program had benefited them 8 . We provided an outline to the students on why storytelling is important and guidelines on how to craft their story 9 . Finally , the students delivered their stories at the orientation sessions . The implementation of storytelling in this situation was definitely effective . From our observations , we could tell that students were really engaged in hearing these firsthand stories ; however , we do n’t know whether this will translate into participation as this is difficult to measure . We could , however , measure participation in a year ’s time to see if this has a had an impact on participation compared to other year ’s orientation sessions . I would say the tool is effective and this was good as the first implementation , however , I think there are many more ways we could use it . INSIGHT There were multiple stages in this process where I felt like I had a - ha ! moments . From a broad perspective , I think using design thinking makes you stop , take stock for a second and really think about what you are doing . Chances are , if you have a challenge then there is probably something you are doing wrong or that you could be doing better if you were to think about it creatively . It makes you stop to think about the human at the end of the process . If you are willing to use different tools such as storytelling , mindmapping , visualisation or a learning launch , then you are going to discover what those paint points are . In this particular challenge , I came to realise that our orientation sessions were incredibly focused on getting the students to understand the structure of the program , which although important , is more so from a staff perspective and initially , we need to focus on inspiring them on why they should be part of the program . It made me reflect , “ If I were a student would I join this program based on the orientation session I ’ve just seen , or would I be bored ? ” . Using a tool like storytelling made me realise that if we are serious about addressing challenges , we can solve them creatively . APPROACH I believe that using storytelling for this challenge was just a first experiment in how to use design thinking in business . On a simplistic level , next time I think that we could get more than one student to attend an orientation , maybe 3 and each of them give a 2 - 4 minute talk on their experience , which would better show the diversity of experiences . Further , I think we could have these stories at the start so that students are engaged from the offset . I would like to explore using storytelling in the orientation session where the whole session was a form of story . I think it could be interesting if we explored the state of the world at the moment , discussing some of the challenges , issues like climate change , ethics of artificial intelligence and biological warfare , and then involve the students with how this program will help provide them with the tools to help solve some of these problems . Perhaps we could turn the orientation session into a story where we explain a challenge , tell the students they are policymakers and get them to solve the challenge in the end . Along the way we could address different parts of the program structure and how this would relate to them solving the problem . The reason I think this could be an interesting idea is because at the moment , we have kept the orientation session relatively the same and inserted a story into it . I believe it could be even more effective if we changed the whole structure of the orientation session to be a story , although I ’m not entirely sure how to do this yet . I think this tool will help me be more creative in how we can meet student needs in the future .