By Kristin Zehnder, CHRP

Picture the following. It’s Monday morning and Sally is eager to begin her week by leading a team meeting to refresh the company’s mission statement.  While this meeting presents a challenging opportunity for Sally, it is apparent that her colleagues do not feel the same. The disinterest, and even contempt, is evident in their body language.  Given the changes the company has undergone recently, this challenge is not unexpected, nor has the expectation from above changed—how can Sally bring back the passion of her team?

Face-to-Face with Disruption
Disruption has many forms and faces, and when it strikes, it can be nothing short of devastating. While there can be many causes, a common obstacle is ineffective communication.  Alternatively, disruption can be treated as the catalyst needed to review, modify and push forward to even greater achievements.

Businesses have become adept at streamlining communication through technological advances.  While this can be extremely valuable as a productivity tool, the kind of back-to-basics, face-to-face communication, such as storytelling, appears to be missing. This disruptive communication tactic provides an avenue to challenge the status quo and is designed to evoke authenticity.

Storytelling a Human Trait
Geoff Colvin, author of Humans are Underrated, discusses the power of storytelling as it relates to authenticity: “Stories don’t have to be human. Computers can write them. But we don’t really care about stories.  What we care about is effective storytelling, and that is entirely human – an innately, deeply human exchange. No matter what kind of work we do, as technology becomes more capable, we will become enormously more valuable if we can influence people in this uniquely powerful way.”

The face-to-face exchange of storytelling generates emotion and connection between the storyteller and the listener. Colvin refers to research which not only demonstrates the psychological phenomenon, but perhaps more importantly, how this interaction builds a sense of trust, authenticity and retention.

Information is Impersonal
Consider how some companies choose to tell their work story to new hires.  Orientations are designed to showcase company history, hierarchical structure, rules, and mission statements among many other topics in a condensed presentation.  While this approach may accomplish the task of “orienting new hires,” it fails to build an emotional connection because it is impersonal.  What if anything, do the participants remember from orientation and how will they be able to incorporate what they learned into what they do and say?

Colvin states: “A big problem with company-written stories…is that they don’t seem authentic.”

At Home With the Elephant
How then do we create a sense of authenticity with our work stories?

I recall a story which was randomly shared with me over lunch with colleagues at Otter Co-op.  This story resonated with me not only because it was so long ago (and I couldn’t believe it really happened), but, to me, it captured the essence of our company.

Some of you may recall Tina the elephant from the Vancouver Zoo. Well, as one of our biggest customers, Tina got to visit our store (yes inside) on a couple of occasions and browse our produce isle for some tasty treats.  I can’t imagine any of our competitors would have had the same opportunity for such a special guest.

Our tag line is “You’re at home here” which perfectly depicts how we openly welcome all of our guests. I now share this story at each orientation and ask our new team members to share their experiences that they have had with our company.

The Trouble with Mission Statements
Company mission statements are designed to describe a company’s purpose—who they are.  They have the potential to be very effective, however, they are often ineffective dust collectors.  In his book The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything, Guy Kawasaki promotes mantras over mission statements:

“Forget mission statements; they’re long, boring, and irrelevant.  No one can ever remember them – much less implement them.  Instead, take your meaning and make a mantra out of it.  This will set your entire team on the right course.”

A significant limitation of mission statements is that they tend to lack authenticity. Consider your company’s mission statement. Who wrote it? How did they come up with it? Do your colleagues know it and would they be able to paraphrase its intended meaning in their own words? Once formalized, how has it been shared?  If your employees don’t know this information, or the story behind it, they will not perceive the mission to be authentic.

Questions of authenticity also arise, Kawasaki points out, through the sheer commonality of language used in mission statements.  If most companies share the same or similar language, how authentic can each really be?

What’s Your Company Mantra?
His idea of starting with the mantra first, is nothing short of brilliant. Mantras are clear, concise, three words or less and easy to remember and repeat.  For example, IBM’s mantra is “think”, and Disney’s is “fun family entertainment.”  They capture a companies’ essence in a heartbeat.  They stimulate emotion, connection and authenticity.

These questions bring forward the opportunity of how and what we are sharing with our employees.

Remember Sally at the beginning of my story?  Her team was disengaged and discouraged, and all parties were stuck in an antiquated process. Consider the potential of flipping the approach from mission statement to mantra and bringing meaning back to the dialogue. Herein, Sally has the opportunity to use storytelling as a positively disruptive, back-to-basics alternative.

Rebuild the Pillars of Communication
Think about it.  If you are experiencing similar challenges, look first at your mission statement and its effectiveness. Does it tell an authentic story which garners relevance, connection and engagement with employees? Are your employees able to verbalize your companies’ purpose in three words or less? What would your company mantra be?

Help knock the dust off the pillars of your company and re-inspire passion, connection and authenticity with effective storytelling.

Kristin Zehnder, BA, CHRP, is director of HR for the British Columbia-based retailer Otter Farm and Home Co-operative (Otter Co-op).

(PeopleTalk Spring 2016)