553: The Four Storytelling Mistakes Leaders Make, with David Hutchens

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Nov 8, 2021

David Hutchens, an expert in storytelling for leaders and author of 'Story Dash,' shares invaluable insights on the art of narrative in leadership. He discusses four common pitfalls leaders face: neglecting their role as storytellers, failing to link stories to strategic goals, avoiding emotional content, and assuming storytelling will happen naturally. David offers practical actions to enhance storytelling effectiveness, emphasizing the importance of emotional engagement and clear messaging to inspire and drive change in organizations.

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ANECDOTE

Hutchens' Storytelling Origins

David Hutchens started in advertising, writing about products he wasn't passionate about.
He transitioned to helping organizations tell stories to drive change and meaning.

ANECDOTE

The NASA Scientist's Story

A NASA scientist struggled to communicate his research until Hutchens asked about the "cool" parts.
The scientist then shared an engaging story about coordinating with his team for a successful data collection.

ADVICE

Everyone's a Storyteller

Everyone tells stories; it's a natural way of communicating.
Access this inherent ability instead of viewing storytelling as a performance.

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David Hutchens: Story Dash

David Hutchens helps leaders find and tell their stories. He works with leaders around the world to find, craft, and tell their most urgent stories for the purpose of creating shared meaning, preserving culture, disseminating learning, and speeding change in organizations.

He has taught the Storytelling Leader program at some of the most influential organizations — and he’s written many books, including the Circle of the 9 Muses* and The Leadership Story Deck*. He is the co-creator with longtime friend of the show Susan Gerke of the GO Team program. He’s also the author of the new book, Story Dash: Find, Develop, and Activate Your Most Valuable Business Stories…In Just a Few Hours*.

In this conversation, David and I revisit the power of storytelling and highlight where many leaders go wrong. We explore the common mistakes that David sees in his work all over the world. Plus, we invite listeners into a few practical actions that will help stories land with better impact.

Key Points

Four mistakes that leaders make:

They are not storytelling, sometimes because they don’t see themselves as storytellers or feel like they are performing.
They don’t connect the story to the strategic intent but never clearly answering the “why am I telling this story?” question.
They avoid emotional content of stories because they either don’t want to be emotional or are presenting to a “numbers person.”
They expect it to just happen, instead of making intentional effort to make it happen.

Resources Mentioned

To receive David Hutchen’s Story Canvas, reach out to him at david@davidhutchens.com and tell him one valuable tip you gained from this episode.

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

The Four Critical Stories Leaders Need For Influence, with David Hutchens (episode 148)
The Way to Influence Executives, with Nancy Duarte (episode 450)
The Way to Earn Attention, with Raja Rajamannar (episode 521)

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