ACTIVATE YOUR TEAM’S voice OF LEADERSHIP INFLUENCE

Learn to tell leadership stories that create engagement and belief so that people will act.

swoosh blue

IN A WORLD OF complexity and noise, attention IS A PRECIOUS COMMODITY.

It’s harder than ever to engage people in the work you care about. Perhaps you’ve noticed this. There’s too many voices. Too much volatility. Too much noise.

It doesn’t have to be this way...

2 Workshop It Doesn't Have to Be This way... (1)

Story is the language that punches through the noise. It engages instantly. It’s a “human to human” technology. And it creates powerful moments of connection around your most urgent work.

You and your leaders should be telling stories. We can help with that.

half circle lines

WHY DO YOUR LEADERS need TO TELL STORIES?

1

My team or customer
is stuck.

Tell a story that will “unstick” the system so that people will move. Teams will engage. Customers will buy.

2

Our message is complex.

Stories will breathe life, clarity, and energy into your science, technology, data, or strategy message.

3

I need people to believe.

Organizations and markets are emotional systems. That’s why your data doesn’t inspire action. Tell a story that will align people to act.

swoosh blue

WHAT IS “THE STORYTELLING LEADER”?

It’s the organizational world’s premiere, active learning experience for building story capacity. “The Storytelling Leader” has been embraced by the world’s most influential organizations. (And many smaller ones that are on the fast track to influence!)

In just a single day (live, or virtually), your team of leaders will find, develop, and tell the narrative assets around their most urgent work.

And they will leave with a highly engaging, transformative message they can activate tomorrow.

swoosh blue

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT “THE STORYTELLING LEADER”?

In this active learning experience, your teams and leaders will...

Explore story circles as a leadership structure.

Story circles are humanity’s oldest technology for connection and sense-making. Today, this old idea is finding new application in innovation environments. Bring your teams together to tell their stories and draw actionable wisdom from them. When you do, you create a rich culture of knowledge creation, shared identity, living values, and engaged membership. Stories are that powerful!

Untitled design (6)
4

Find the stories you didn’t know you knew.

Using innovative resources like The Leadership Story Deck, you’ll uncover your “narrative assets”; the value-holding stories that say something potent about your team, your work, or your offering.

Plan to tell your stories with impact.

So you’ve identified a story asset you need to bring to your customers or stakeholders. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could tell that story really well? Using resources like the Story Canvas, you will craft an unforgettable narrative that will land with maximum impact.

1
Untitled design (7)

Activate your story-driven message.

Work in teams to generate highly persuasive messages that engage people at the level of emotion… and bring urgency to the work you’re doing now. In just a single day, the team will be ready to activate the stories that create engagement and belief so people will act.

YOU'LL RECEIVE AN INNOVATIVE SUITE OF RESOURCES TO TURBO CHARGE YOUR STORY WORK

One of the most popular parts of The Storytelling Leader is the innovative Participant Kit. Your leaders will discover the suite of one-of-a-kind resources that will accelerate their learning… and then keep the work alive, long after the program.

  • A durable, beautifully boxed Participant Kit
  • A large “Story Canvas” that can be used over and over again
  • The famous Leadership Story Deck
  • The Story Dash Cards for change and transformation storytelling
  • “How to Host a Story Circle” strategic planning guide
  • A sticker. Because everyone likes stickers.
Untitled design (1)
Group 379
Group 378

What past participants have said

swoosh blue

TRUSTED BY tens of thousands OF LEADERS IN THE WORLD’S MOST INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS

logo-google
logo-fedex
logo-accenture
Artboard 1
logo-walmart
logo-cvs
logo-loreal
logo-nasa
Logo-goodwill
Logo-HBR
Logo-CapriSun
Logo-stella

STORY IS YOUR MOST HUMAN,
MOST POWERFUL PATH TO CONNECTION. (IT’S ALSO A LOT OF FUN.)

half circle lines

WHAT KIND OF LEADERSHIP STORIES DO
you NEED TO TELL?

What are the learning outcomes of The Storytelling Leader? The active learning experience is tailored to the needs of your leaders.

Your leadership role will determine the kind of engagement you need to create… and the stories you need to tell:

Senior leaders point to the future and say, “We’re going this way.” Every day your role is to align the organization around the strategy and compel the system to action. When you tell strategic stories, you’ll inspire people to move.

Technology and science leaders are really good at talking to each other. But what about everyone else? Much of your work is inviting people to understand and act. Cut through the complexity, and then invite them to engage.

Before innovation can go to market, it has to take root internally. Advocate for the new offering by telling innovation stories. When you do, you’ll generate excitement, support, and resources.

In the war for hot talent, there’s a new generation of jobseekers who have a simple request: Make me believe in you. What stories are you telling them?

Story is the voice of the learning organization. Tell stories that capture and disseminate the organization’s deep wisdom. That’s the rich stuff that you can’t fit in an Excel spreadsheet. Story is the container for knowledge.

Sometimes you need to tell stories about YOU. Tell stories to:

  • Advocate for your own leadership within the system (and “manage up”)
  • Crush the interview and win the next opportunity
  • Create a differentiated voice (“brand”) for your website or market-facing messages

Movements are launched and fueled by authentic stories. Inspire people to volunteer, join the movement, vote, give, or take compassionate action.

The return on engagement

Story is the language that breathes life into your identity, purpose, values, and more. When you tell stories about who you are, what you do, and why you do it, your culture, values, and brand are more than just words on a website. They become differentiators; animated, alive, urgent.

4X

That’s the amount of revenue growth for organizations that demonstrate their purpose and values versus those that don’t. *Kotter and Heskett: “Corporate Culture and Performance”

15/1

Increase in financial results for companies that activate their stories of values, versus those that do not. *Collins and Porras: “Built to Last”

60%

Percentage of companies who say that values are the most important consideration for choosing a corporate partner. “Innovation” and “Dominates the market” each received only 20%. *Study from AdWeek and Forbes

NOT READY FOR THE FULL PROGRAM? GO digital!

If you aren’t a decision-maker for organizational learning; or, if you don’t have a team or are a solopreneur, don’t fret! “The Storytelling Leader Online” was made just for you! In this active online learning experience, you’ll encounter the rich offerings of The Storytelling Leader… at a price that you’ll love.

swoosh blue

Frequently ASKED QUESTIONS

Most often, The Storytelling Leader is delivered as a robust, full-day program, with around 7 or 8 hours of experiential content. But the material is flexible! There are options for half-day programs, two-day programs, full “storytelling leadership retreats,” and more.

The Storytelling Leader can be delivered live or as a virtual program. There are clear benefits to live, in-person learning in terms of energy and connection. But the experience works beautifully when delivered virtually. For virtual delivery, we recommend scheduling the program as a series of three modules that can be spaced out over three different days. (A full day on Zoom is exhausting, right?)

We’ve delivered a great learning experience to teams as small as 6, and also to a hotel grand ballroom packed with 300 people. That said, a sweet spot for organizational learning is between 12 and 24 people; This allows for the most interaction, dialogue, participation, and engagement.

Yes, David Hutchens is available for keynote speeches on a variety of topics related to storytelling, leadership, and organizational learning. Contact us for details.

Yes, there are options for licensing and facilitator certification. Contact us for details.

Yes, it is fun work! If you meet the qualification requirements, Certification is available so that The Storytelling Leader can become part of your offerings. Learn more here.

Check out “Our Story” on this website. Or go do David’s personal website at www.DavidHutchens.com.

half circle lines

DEEPENING your team's STORY PRACTICE

What happens after your leaders and teams complete The Storytelling Leader learning experience? We offer lots of opportunities for skill building, and for taking your story practice even deeper.

Coaching

Keep the learning alive! Does your team have a big event, presentation, or sales call? Expert story coaching is available.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

You don’t need to wait for us! Get Story Dash. Get the Cards. Get the Canvas. Get the online program. We’ve got everything you need.

half circle lines

Request a workshop

Yes! I want to know more about building my team's capacity for storytelling influence.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*