“The human brain is hardwired
to understand the world through stories.”
-Shane Safir
In The Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation, Shane Safir discusses five core tenets of listening leadership. The first is that “Organizations have core memories.” Stories bring us together in community, help us see each other’s humanity, and celebrate oral language. Today I want to summarize some of what I took away from the book, with respect to collective stories.
An institution’s collective stories can bring hope, restoration, and a sense of an organization’s identity. They can also be prone to distortion. Our brains are wired toward remembering negative experiences more quickly than positive experiences. When we curate stories of hope and immerse our community in positive experiences, we create a healthy culture where mistakes are welcomed and people feel safe to take risks. We can literally rewrite the story we create, and tell ourselves, about our organization.
Safir discusses “storientation” which is paying close attention to the stories and the role they plan in transforming schools. Storientation is a powerful tool for organizational change and growth. “Curate three types of story: self, other, and organization.” This can be done by:
- As a leader, share parts of your own story. And, when you make mistakes, admit these so that they don’t become part of the system’s story. Instead they become part of a story of vulnerability and growth.
- Listen with curiosity to the stories of others: Who are they? What do they care about? This creates connection and belonging. It also enables a system to build off strengths, talents, and core values. Provide opportunities for colleagues to share stories with each other.
- Be attuned to the core memories of the school community. Celebrate and center stories of success; and be broad in what success means. Cultivate positive memories. This will help avoid negative stories becoming the narrative, what is remembered.
As a leader, this work often requires going to the balcony to see the whole picture. In order to facilitate the cultivation of positive stories, transformation, and deep meaning, you need to be hyperaware. You can then orchestrate the next steps and model how to interpret and react in a situation.
Finally, co-create a desired state story. Write a narrative of what you hope for. Envision how working together towards this powerful, beautiful desired state story can: bring a learning community together, model collaboration and diverse expression to our students, and ultimately serve our students in both their humanity and their learning.
“Leaders are curators who collect, arrange, and highlight stories as a way to affirm our shared humanity and make the impossible seem possible.” – Safir
Resources:
The Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation, Shane Safir