Lead Like a Storyteller: Write Your Chapter in Business

I’m a huge fan of leaders and managers providing clarity, alignment, and action. One way I help clients do this is by thinking about their work as a chapter in a much bigger book — the story of the organisation.

Instead of focusing on day-to-day tasks in isolation, consider the bigger picture: what do you want this chapter of your business story to say?

Check out the podcast episode, or read on for more

Why Storytelling Matters in Leadership

Stories are powerful because they make people feel something. And when people feel something, they move — emotion creates motion.

In business, challenges and opportunities are your story arcs. Like in Finding Nemo, where Nemo and the other fish are trapped in a net, your team will face seemingly insurmountable problems. The way you guide them through these challenges determines the outcome of your chapter.

The Hero’s Journey in Business

A classic story arc has seven elements:

1. An insurmountable problem – A challenge your team must overcome.
2. A protagonist – Often the manager or leader, who doesn’t have all the answers.
3. A like-minded team – People with complementary skills and energy to tackle the problem.
4. A plan – Clear direction on what needs to be done.
5. Defined roles – Everyone knows their part in achieving the goal.
6. Difficulty and resistance – The challenge is hard, creating tension and engagement.
7. Growth – The team emerges stronger, smarter, and more capable.

This mirrors the hero’s journey in films like Finding Nemo or Star Wars, but it also mirrors the work we do every day in organisations.

Chapters and Leadership

Think of your organisation as a book:

• A startup is writing its early chapters, full of opportunity and discovery.
• A century-old business has a rich history, with hundreds of chapters already written.

Your role as a leader is to decide what your chapter looks like. Is it a drama, a horror, or an action-packed story of overcoming challenges?

How to Lead Through Your Chapter

1. Identify the key challenges your team faces.
2. Gather a complementary team with different skills and experiences.
3. Create a plan that provides clarity and alignment.
4. Define roles so everyone knows their contribution.
5. Embrace the difficulty — hard work makes the story meaningful.
6. Celebrate growth — focus on how your team develops through the process.

The best leaders don’t just solve problems — they create stories where people learn, grow, and feel a sense of belonging.

👉 Check out this article on Releasing Business Agility, which starts with a bright painted picture of the future, then encourages you to overcome the obstacles and key challenges you face - the story arc fit perfectly in here.

Why This Matters

When your chapter is complete:

• People have grown in skills, behaviours, and capabilities.
• The organisation moves closer to its goals.
• You’ve left a legacy that others will build upon in the next chapters.

Leadership is storytelling in action. The chapters you write matter — not just for business outcomes, but for the people who work with you.

So ask yourself: what do you want your chapter to say?