There are three important elements required to reimagine our systems and business models:
- Daring Leadership
- Abundance Mindset
- Collaborative Narrative
In this post I dig in to the term ‘Collaborative Narrative’ and why I believe it is important at the individual leader level, and also at a cultural level for our societies and organisations.
I had the pleasure to participate in a Story DoJo session hosted by Mary Alice Arthur, in which she explored the topic of story and power with the author Annette Simmons. Annette Simmons has a new book coming out this October, which is on my ‘to-read’ list and I am looking forward to. In the Story DoJo session Annette Simmons shared her theory around ‘competitive narrative’ and a ‘collaborative narrative’.
In our societies and businesses we have been operating in an environment with armored leadership, scarcity-fuelled anxieties and predominantly competitive narratives. Competitive narratives mean the messages and stories we are sent are “you always have to be better than others”, “it’s all about winning”, “perfectionism, exhaustion are signs your are committed”. For example one of the latest McKinsey Email Newsletters in my inbox headlined “Can your company stay competitive if it focuses only on what it’s good at today?” – Source McKinsey Daily Read Newsletter 24 July 2021.
If we are looking to shift to new systems and business models with daring leadership and a mindset of abundance, than we require new stories of success. And new stories of success have to support new ways to measure success, it cannot be about profit alone and it cannot be with a singular view on the organisation. It has to be a wholistic view with benefit to the organisation and within the external environment. This would mean the organisation is successful if it is contributing to better wellbeing and a healthier planet for us all. We need system thinkers and ecologists to work with the economists on building these narratives.
With the current ongoing focus on ‘Purpose’ – I am convinced that what people are looking for is how their organisation belongs within the ecosystem of our society and planet. It is our right-brains inherent understanding of the interconnectedness of everything and an increasing demand for this belonging to be made very explicit. This is a key part of a Collaborative Narrative – what is our organisation’s (and thus our employee’s) role within our system to create wellbeing for all?
Some questions to ponder on:
- The famous ‘Hero’s Journey’ – how do we make one that is collaborative?
- What stories do you read and see in your go to sites for information? Are they competitive or collaborative in nature?
- How do we change and agree upon what we measure as success?
- Here I talk about a ‘Collaborative Narrative’ – it is about collaboration and cooperation, right?
Source: You can find more information on the work about the power of stories by Annette Simmons here.
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