Restorying the Organization

The job of a leader is to look ahead, to see what others don’t. As leader you may see clearly that your organization must change but sometimes as clear as it is to you, it’s that unclear to others. People in organizations can be slow to see the need for change in their narrative as well as resistant to changing it (Quinn, 2004). In addition to making for some interesting conversations with yourself, this fact will cause your efforts to be perceived among those of the dominant narrative as a loss of their identity or a sense of bewilderment and frustration. The result will be a rise in feeling that their view is the correct view and that compromise is being demanded of them. These feelings aside, the fact is that people can and do change. Likely in one of three ways: First, to receive rewards or avoid punishment: here the rightness or wrongness of the change itself is not in view. Second, to remain in relationship with another person or group: in this the content of the change may be irrelevant. Third, and the goal of the narrative leader: because it is congruent with the individual’s values (Armenakis et al., 1999). As members evaluate our change efforts to determine whether their values are supported or threatened (Bruhn, 2004) we’re given the opportunity to touch those values and provide the concepts and language needed to discuss the meaning of the change (Quinn, 2004).