3.1 The purpose of leadership stories

Stories are always told with an audience in mind – they are relational. They are also told with a purpose in mind – the teller wants to achieve something through the telling. To be more specific:

Which genre of story you choose to tell will depend on the context you are experiencing and the type of response you are trying to generate. Campaigns for change may involve telling all of these stories at various times as events unfold. For example, an organiser in a workplace dispute may begin with a horror or tragic story to generate a common feeling of injustice and anger among workers; the organiser might switch to telling epic stories to build confidence; in the face of opposition from the bosses, the organiser could tell comic stories to reduce the perceived power differential; romantic stories could be told (in good times and bad) as a means of generating solidarity and positive feelings.