Now more than ever, people are looking for purpose. They are actively seeking a deeper meaning – a tie between their work or daily life and some deeper value or belief.
As leaders, we have the power to give that gift to our team members.
And like most things in life, it all begins with a story.
Elements of storytelling leaders can use
Think about the elements of storytelling. All stories have a beginning, middle, and end (or a beginning, middle, and twist, if you’re R. L. Stine). Story components include characters, setting, plot, theme, and writing elements such as point of view, style, voice, etc. And plots tend to have some sort of conflict and can be broken down into five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Stories, when deconstructed, require flow and progression and a journey, with characters often facing a problem or dealing with change. As such, the reader should feel something – maybe you side with the protagonist, or you see the validity of the antagonist’s perspective; maybe you feel deeply inspired by one story, but enjoy the light, comedic nature of another. Successful stories tend to evoke emotion and cause a reader to think about something, ranging from a moment’s reflection to a motivation to behave differently.
Leaders can incorporate storytelling elements into their management approaches to inspire team members to feel their work has purpose.
Beginning, middle, and end
Projects tend to feel more well-organized when there is a pre-brief or launch meeting (before the project starts to get everyone on the same page), a check-in scheduled at regular intervals (during the project to monitor progress), and a debrief (after the project ends to reflect on how it went, discuss what changes that should be made in the future, and tie up any loose ends) – a beginning, middle, and end. Nothing exists in a vacuum, so there’s no need to pretend that it does; plus, it doesn’t take too much extra time to give these updates, but it will help your team be more agile, knowledgeable, cohesive, and innovative in the long run. Incorporate this into your project plans to make it a regular part of each process; that way, it won't feel like extra work to you, and regardless of the simplicity or complexity of each deliverable, everyone can expect the project to be organized well from the beginning and the communication to be clear and consistent throughout. Organization and communication, particularly context and consistent messages, help lay the foundation on which purpose can be built or discovered.
Characters, setting, plot, and theme
People tend to perform better when they know the context behind their work. Many new managers give individual tasks without providing insight into the bigger picture; while this is sometimes necessary, it can become redundant or demotivating when perpetuated. In general, people like to know the who, what, when, where, why, and how (5W1H); in a workplace, giving appropriate facts and details around the context of a project might help employees feel more tied to their work and to the overall mission of the company.
For example, you may need to ask an employee to do a research project for you. It may be a simple data dive, a quick task that doesn’t require too much explanation. But if you do provide a concise background into why this is needed, how it will be used, or where it impacts the overall process, the employee may feel more motivated to do a good job, more inspired by the overarching vision, and more compelled to go above and beyond or think outside the box rather than just completing the task. You may have taken a few extra moments to provide greater context, but in the end, having motivated employees pays dividends.
Disclaimer: Roles may vary, and this is not always possible, but try it to see if it could be an effective leadership tactic to motivate your employees.
Note: This doesn't mean you should always overshare -- you should always tailor your communication to your audience and align your message with your strategy. But for the most part, employees appreciate when leaders give them enough information that they feel that they are a part of something bigger than just the task at hand.
Flow and journey
Many employees like to see their work connect either to other projects they are working on or to other work being done in the company. Some roles have to be task-oriented, but wherever possible, providing insight into the greater journey that an employee takes as well as the journey taken by the company will help employees feel more comfortable with new requests and more clued into what’s going on in other departments. For example, if you keep giving one-off requests to employees, they won’t feel tied to anything – they’ll just get the work done and wait for the next random request. But if the projects have progression, employees will experience growth, even on a micro level.
For example, maybe you start someone with a basic research project, then after proving their skill, you ask them to do more advanced analysis, or to infuse strategy into their work.
Or you may need to start by giving someone social posts to publish, but eventually you teach them about the brand voice and ask them to start drafting posts for you to review. After some time, they may feel ready to publish posts without your approval.
This progression boosts morale and gives employees increased responsibility that is good for their professional development and helps support your strategy and mission as a leader.

We at Storyhaven believe that context and communication are of paramount importance. That belief is a cornerstone of our vision that fuels our recommendation for leaders to use storytelling elements to help employees feel connected to their work and discover their professional purpose. In trying times especially, context and connection are motivators that help people feel that their work matters – that they matter. It may take leaders a little bit of extra effort to provide this context, but the results are tenfold and are deeper than any dollar amount. If only purpose or happiness were the KPI against which we measured success!
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