How to Use Storytelling as a Way to Inspire Employee Engagement
Let's assume, for the moment, that you are a forward-thinking business leader charged with the responsibility of accomplishing extraordinary results. Although your strategy may not yet be completely clear to you, one thing most definitely is: You cannot do this alone. You know, in your bones, that if you want to achieve extraordinary results, you will need the full participation of a highly engaged, focused, and collaborative workforce.
The sobering reality? It's unlikely that your company's workforce has reached this lofty realm yet -- closer, in profile, probably, to the staggering 62% of American workers (according to the US Department of Labor) who are dissatisfied and disengaged.
In other words, corporate slackers.
Yes, they have potential, but it is not potential you need. You need kinetic -- the full throttle expression of the very best of what your people have to offer. You've tried carrots. You've tried sticks. You've given pep talks until you're blue in the face, but nothing seems to work. It's time for something else. But what?
Enter Idea Champions' ALL HANDS ON DECK workshop.
Based on 27 years of research and in-the-trenches experience with hundreds of savvy organizations, Mitch Ditkoff, internationally recognized innovation provocateur and author of the groundbreaking book, Storytelling at Work, has distilled down the essence of what he's learned about employee engagement and the transfer of tacit knowledge into a highly effective, one-day learning experience.
His premise is a simple one: Participants don't need to learn anything new. They don't need to be trained, transformed, or tricked into mastering new skills. Instead, they need to tune into -- and express -- what they already know -- their collective insight, wisdom, and know how that is hiding in a place few of them ever dare to explore -- their own stories.
Bottom line, storytelling is the most universal, time-tested, cost-effective way for people to share what is truly meaningful to them, what they know in their bones but rarely get a chance to communicate -- your organization's most valuable human resource, the DNA of its future business success: 
Purpose. Passion. Risk taking. Resilience. Adaptability. Creativity. Clarity. Collaboration. Commitment. And perseverance.
You want full engagement? You want to spark a mindset of innovation? Then find a way to unlock these qualities in your people.
The key? Storytelling, well done.
HOW DOES THE WORKSHOP WORK?
There are three reasons why an ALL HANDS ON DECK workshop works: 1) What we do before the session; 2) What we do during the session; 3) And what we do after.
At least 30 days before a workshop, we will interview you and a cross-section of participants to find out what the predominant story is in the organization -- the cultural narrative that will need to change if employee engagement and innovation is going to flourish. We also ask everyone to respond to our culture of innovation poll -- yet another way to prime the pump.
The workshop, itself, is a mix of five elements: culture building, action learning, storytelling tutorials, ideation, and opportunities for participants to share their own stories with each other.
Post-workshop, we train selected participants, online, to facilitate company-specific Wisdom Circles -- small group gatherings that build trust, increase collaboration, transfer tacit knowledge, spark innovation and continue building a culture of storytelling.
Intrigued? Call us at 845.679.1066 or email info@ideachampions.com
Innovation Excellence review of Storytelling at Work
A 60 minute radio interview with Mitch Ditkoff
Harnessing the power of storytelling
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If you like this blog, you might also like Mitch's other two blogs: 