Sharing Stories: A Powerful Gift For Learning In Changing Times
Sharing stories is one of the oldest and most powerful forms of communication. They connect people to one another and to events. They unlock the doors to deep learning from experience. Whenever stories are shared in an open way, I feel myself connecting to countless generations of people throughout history. Sharing stories is a time proven way we humans use to build resilience and creatively face change in the natural and social environment. Time and time again, I have seen how time taken to share stories arising from experience brings people through change with healing, grace, and great ideas.
In this boundary moment between lockdowns and opening up social spaces, making time for sharing stories in organizations can play a vital role in metabolizing experience into constructive and beautiful new ideas, and actions.
One of the challenges to sharing stories at the moment is that to do it time and and space need to be dedicated to it. There needs to be a sense of not needing to perform or be efficient. Yet in many organizations, especially now, there is a drive for efficiency and logical progression, not to mention impatience to “get things moving” again.
This performance mindedness puts pressure on people to not “waste time” on things that may not have a direct visible result. This…
