Leadership Storytelling: A Vehicle for Vision and Inspiration

by Kelsey Twist Schroeder, Ed.D., Faculty, gcLi, Middle School Principal, Georgetown Day School, in Washington, D.C.

This past August, I traveled to Hobe Sound, Florida to celebrate the 100th birthday of my grandmother-in-law, Janet “GG” Williams, who, after nearly 20 years of knowing her, feels very much like a grandmother to me. 

The multi-day celebration began on a Saturday morning with storytelling. GG sat in her living room surrounded by her five children, her 16 grandchildren, and many of her 34 great grandchildren. With a treasure box full of artifacts on her lap, she described a childhood in which she enjoyed playing with homemade dolls, going out to silent films, and dancing to piano music on Friday evenings. She explained to wide-eyed children at her feet what it was like when people had to wind clocks, when the whole world was at war, and how one figured out how to get from place to place without Google Maps. GG even retold stories that she had been told by her own orphaned grandmother, bridging the distance of five generations. She ended the gathering by asking the youngest members of the family what stories they think they will tell their own great grandchildren at their 100th birthday parties. 

It has been said that the shortest distance between two people is a story. As we contemplate our role as educators and our responsibility to teach leadership to our students, we would be wise to consider storytelling a critical leadership competency. But why exactly is storytelling– something that can appear relatively simple or straightforward–such an important and nuanced leadership skill? 

To begin, storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to inspire and unify a group because stories activate our emotions (making our amygdalas sing to borrow a phrase from developmental psychologist and former gcLi Institute Scholar Dr. Deak!), creating space for hope, optimism, and possibility. Stories ignite the heart and stimulate the memory, capitalizing on our social nature and leading to deeper human connections. When spoken from the heart, stories have the power to convey a leader’s authenticity and demonstrate their commitment to the work and to the team. Finally, stories can, at times, be an effective way to express some degree of vulnerability and build empathy and trust among a group.

We all learn early on what a story is–a narrative arc consisting of a beginning, a middle, and an end–but rarely do we learn why stories matter so much and how to tell them effectively. Leadership storytelling begins with the leader’s ability to understand the needs of the specific audience as well as the broader context in which they are working. The leader must then be able to identify the right story to respond to the group, and finally, they must deliver the story in a way that is both captivating and compelling. When done well, leadership storytelling provides both the inspiration and vision that a group needs to move towards a shared goal.   

Given the time and place where GG grew up, there were limited formal leadership opportunities available to her compared to today. In fact, for most of her 70+ year marriage, she played a supporting role to her beloved late husband, Emory Williams, a kind and prominent business and community leader in Chicago. Yet, the stories she told about her life and family to her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren year after year cultivated a sense of connection, belonging, and family pride unlike anything I have ever seen. In her final few months of life, and with the help of her daughter, GG finished her memoir entitled Show Me the Way, which chronicles her 100 years and includes a dedication to each of her descendants. She gave a hardcover copy of the book to each member of the family as a gift at the birthday celebration because she understood the lasting power of stories to build connection and community.    

A few weeks ago, GG passed away peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones, and my family and I returned to Hobe Sound to attend her memorial service and celebrate her extraordinary life. Just like at her birthday party this past summer, the weekend was full of stories of every kind. Although I will miss the matriarch of our family beyond words, I will always remember and treasure her stories and the wisdom she shared through them. Thought I married into the Williams family and joined it as an adult, GG and her stories still captured my heart and continue to help me feel connected, included, and inspired to live up to and into her example as a wife, mother, teacher, and leader.     

—-

Kelsey Twist Schroeder, Ed.D., is a faculty member at The Gardner Carney Leadership Institute, and currently serves as Middle School Principal at Georgetown Day School in Washington D.C. She previously served as Middle School Division Head at the Hamlin School in San Francisco and as the Upper School Dean of Students, an English teacher, advisor, and coach at Roland Park Country School in Baltimore. Kelsey graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Art History and an M.A. in Education. She earned her Ed.D. in School Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania where her research focused on the leadership development of girls. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her spouse and their four young children. When not working, Kelsey can be found tending her vegetable bed, helping out at her Episcopal church, and walking her Australian Labradoodle.