This week’s Five Quick Reads post offers an opportunity to think about the power of storytelling, and what it means for education leaders.
Hatch is supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and helps people “tell stories with purpose” because (like you) they know that storytelling “is a compelling tool for inspiring action and change, for influencing thought leaders and decision makers” (website). A recent blog on Hatch begins, “Everyone is talking about Humans of New York” (Girardin, 2015). Here’s a story clip from the blog:
Check out 5 Storytelling Best Practices at the Heart of Humans of New York and you might be one of the “everyone” talking Humans of New York and its storytelling best practices… I am!
Secrist connects the power of storytelling, that “stories spark emotions,” with messaging (or branding):
While travelling in South America, Blake Mycoskie noticed poor children without shoes and wanted to do something to help them. Boom. TOMS Shoes was born. The story is simple—TOMS helps those less fortunate.
How do you connect to Secrist’s message? Check out The Essential Elements of Brand #Storytelling.
“Our brains become more active when we tell stories” writes Wildrich in The Science of Storytelling… Check out what happens to the brains of the folks hearing your story!
Begin (storytelling) by first being a good story listener… This is the focus of Story Listening NOT storytelling. The author challenges readers to “re-affirm the power of listening” in one’s organization through storytelling.
In your profession are you called to serve? I am (and was) as an educator. This is why I connected with Start With Three: How To Get Started In Nonprofit Storytelling. It helps individuals and organizations build a culture of storytelling from telling “The Founding Story” to “The Impact Story” and the “The Why I Do the Work Story.”
Quick Reads offers us an opportunity to share some of what we’re reading and watching each week. We invite you to share the benefits of your experience collaborating across departments or districts.
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Let us know how you connect with the articles and share with us and WRIE readers what you’re reading. Here the stories of education leaders and teachers at this year’s What’s Right in Education, August 4-6, in Chicago, IL. Learn more here.
Our mission at Studer Education is to help education systems achieve measurable results that produce positive outcomes in student achievement, employee engagement, support services, and financial efficiencies and productivity. Our goal is to help school systems provide students with a great place to learn, teachers with a great place to teach, and parents with confidence that their children are getting a great education. Follow us on Twitter at @StuderEducation and visit us online at http://studereducation.com. Studer Education is a division of Studer Group, ranked for the seventh straight year on the Best Small and Medium Workplaces by Great Place to Work® and a recipient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Filed under: How to Lead… Tagged: @HumansofNY, Five Quick Reads, Leadership, Storytelling, Studer Education 
