5 types of stories to lead your team during change

Learn about the five archetypal warning story plots and the leaders who used them to transform their teams, including Al Gore, Jennifer Aaker, Rowan Trollope, and more.

A woman points at a laptop screen while two others watch over her shoulder.

Leading a team is no cakewalk, especially when you’re introducing a change initiative. During periods of change, it requires just the right balance of inspiring action—and warning against inaction. If you sense that your team seems resistant to the ideas or initiatives you’re working toward, you can use stories to help you combat their inaction.

Leaders typically turn to two types of stories to guide their teams: warning and motivating stories. By carefully gauging where your audience is in the transformation process, you can choose which kind of story to turn to.

These stories will teach you:

  • How and when to use motivating vs. warning stories
  • How to communicate with a team that is suffering from inaction
  • Why you don’t always need to tell a story with a happy ending
  • How a Cisco EVP’s climbing excursion became a chilling reminder to pay attention to details
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