Strengthening Team Identity

After decades of working with leaders at companies like Apple, Salesforce, and Cisco, we've identified 4 storytelling techniques that consistently work to deliver important messages in high-stakes settings: 1. Start with the unexpected Don’t begin your presentation with context. Instead, begin with the moment that makes people think, “Wait…what?” Instead of something like: “Here’s an update on our September campaign…” Try starting with the most interesting detail: “I broke our biggest marketing rule last month, and it worked.” Lead with the surprise. You can add context later. 2. Let people feel the tension After the surprise, don’t rewind to the beginning. Take your audience to the moment where things weren’t working. Flat numbers. Missed goals. Stalled progress. Instead of: “The campaign was underperforming, and our team went back to the drawing board.” Try:  "We were two weeks out from the end of the quarter. The campaign wasn’t producing results, and the team was out of ideas. That’s when I decided to take a risk...” You don’t need to explain the problem. You need to make people feel it. 3. Use real dialogue When your audience hears what was actually said, they stop listening to you and start visualizing the moment. This helps them connect emotionally with what you’re saying. Instead of: “The campaign manager said team morale was low and they were struggling to find a solution.” Try: “My campaign manager pulled me aside in the hallway and said, ‘We’ve tried everything. The team has been working overtime, and we don’t know what else to do.’” Dialogue brings listeners into the moment with you. It makes the story real. 4. Share the lesson Never assume people will infer the meaning you intended. End your story by answering: - What does this mean? - How should someone act differently now? Example: “Breaking our biggest marketing rule helped us turn this campaign around and hit our numbers. I strongly suggest we revisit our marketing guidelines. We could be leaving a ton of revenue on the table.” Without the lesson being clear, even a good story feels unfinished. These are the same techniques we teach to our clients at Duarte. Try them out during your next presentation and watch how people lean forward and tune in to your message. #ExecutivePresence #BusinessStorytelling #PresentationSkills

The Blueprint: How to Build an Employee Ambassador Programme Every company will tell you their people are their biggest asset. But if you look closely, most treat them like a line on a balance sheet, not a path in their brand story. And there lies the problem. We're in an era where audiences don’t just want to see what a company does, they want to understand who’s behind it, what they believe in, and how they show up in the world. That’s why Employee Ambassadors matter. Because their voice creates both. And just like any marketing channel, their impact is exponential when it’s built with intention. Here’s my top level blueprint I wish every brand had: 1️⃣ Identify your natural storytellers Every business has them, your culture carriers, A-players, internal influencers. You don’t need everyone posting, just empower those who already live your values and can translate them externally. 2️⃣ Provide frameworks, not scripts People connect with voices, not scripted copy. Give your team clarity on what stories matter, not pre-approved captions. Define key themes and moments and let them share through their own perspective. 3️⃣ Teach storytelling as a brand skill Storytelling isn’t a “nice-to-have”, it’s a competitive advantage. If your team can clearly explain what you do, why it matters, and who it helps, you’ve built an organic marketing engine. Lead learning and development workshops on finding your voice, storytelling and delivery. Give them the tools and they’ll give you the content. 4️⃣ Recognise and reward visibility We celebrate sales and KPIs, but rarely celebrate the people who build trust equity for the brand. Visibility *is* brand contribution. When employees grow an audience or earn industry credibility, the whole business benefits. Acknowledge it. Incentivise it. Celebrate it. Build it into culture. 5️⃣ Build a two-way feedback loop The best advocacy systems work both ways. Leaders give visibility, employees bring insight back. That exchange keeps both sides accountable, aligned, and moving in the same direction. It prevents disconnects, ensures consistency, and turns advocacy into a source of growth - not risk. 🤝 When this system is implemented, your people become living extensions of your brand’s promise. And collectively, they build something no campaign ever could: human trust at scale. Employee Ambassadors don’t just grow your audience, they grow your authority.  Next week, I’ll unpack the business advantage - how visibility turns into real commercial value. Drop your questions, thoughts, challenges below! - 👋 I’m Grace Andrews - brand & marketing educator, creator-entrepreneur, and former Brand Director for Steven Bartlett & The Diary of a CEO. This is post 3/6 of my new series Inside Voices, exploring the rise of the Employee Ambassador and how they’re reshaping modern marketing. Hit Follow to stay informed! - I'm sharing a post every week unpacking how they’re changing the way brands grow, hire, and lead.

If you are looking for a roadmap to master data storytelling, this one's for you Here’s the 12-step framework I use to craft narratives that stick, influence decisions, and scale across teams. 1. Start with the strategic question → Begin with intent, not dashboards. → Tie your story to a business goal → Define the audience - execs, PMs, engineers all need different framing → Write down what you expect the data to show 2. Audit and enrich your data → Strong insights come from strong inputs. → Inventory analytics, LLM logs, synthetic test sets → Use GX Cloud or similar tools for freshness and bias checks → Enrich with market signals, ESG data, user sentiment 3. Make your pipeline reproducible → If it can’t be refreshed, it won’t scale. → Version notebooks and data with Git or Delta Lake → Track data lineage and metadata → Parameterize so you can re-run on demand 4. Find the core insight → Use EDA and AI copilots (like GPT-4 Turbo via Fireworks AI) → Compare to priors - does this challenge existing KPIs? → Stress-test to avoid false positives 5. Build a narrative arc → Structure it like Setup, Conflict, Resolution → Quantify impact in real terms - time saved, churn reduced → Make the product or user the hero, not the chart 6. Choose the right format → A one-pager for execs, & have deeper-dive for ICs → Use dashboards, live boards, or immersive formats when needed → Auto-generate alt text and transcripts for accessibility 7. Design for clarity → Use color and layout to guide attention → Annotate directly on visuals, avoid clutter → Make it dark-mode (if it's a preference) and mobile friendly 8. Add multimodal context → Use LLMs to draft narrative text, then refine → Add Looms or audio clips for async teams → Tailor insights to different personas - PM vs CFO vs engineer 9. Be transparent and responsible → Surface model or sampling bias → Tag data with source, timestamp, and confidence → Use differential privacy or synthetic cohorts when needed 10. Let people explore → Add filters, sliders, and what-if scenarios → Enable drilldowns from KPIs to raw logs → Embed chat-based Q&A with RAG for live feedback 11. End with action → Focus on one clear next step → Assign ownership, deadline, and metric → Include a quick feedback loop like a micro-survey 12. Automate the follow-through → Schedule refresh jobs and Slack digests → Sync insights back into product roadmaps or OKRs → Track behavior change post-insight My 2 cents 🫰 → Don’t wait until the end to share your story. The earlier you involve stakeholders, the more aligned and useful your insights become. → If your insights only live in dashboards, they’re easy to ignore. Push them into the tools your team already uses- Slack, Notion, Jira, (or even put them in your OKRs) → If your story doesn’t lead to change, it’s just a report- so be "prescriptive" Happy building 💙 Follow me (Aishwarya Srinivasan) for more AI insights!

Are You Solving the Right Problem? As leaders & professionals, we're often under pressure to act quickly when challenges arise. Our instinct—or perhaps muscle memory—is to dive straight into solution mode. But over the years, I've found that one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is: Are we solving the right problem? Consider the hybrid workforce. Organizations often roll out solutions like employee engagement activities, gift cards, virtual celebrations, enforcing video-on policies during calls, or hosting virtual team-building sessions. While these seem like good ideas, they may serve as quick fixes that don't address the real issue. So, what's the actual problem? ❓Is it a lack of engagement? ❓A drop in productivity? ❓Struggles with team cohesiveness? ❓Or could it be something deeper, like communication barriers? ❓Disconnect between leadership and employees? ❓Or even more fundamental issues like trust and culture? Getting to the heart of the problem is crucial. 🛠️ 3 Steps to Identify the Right Problem: Observe and Listen: Start by carefully observing the symptoms. What are the visible signs that something's not working? Gather data and listen to feedback from your team. This will help you understand the nature of the issue. Ask Deep Questions: Go beyond surface-level explanations. Use techniques like the "5 Whys" to dig into the root causes. If engagement is low, ask why—several times over—to uncover the core issue. The real problem often lies beneath the symptoms. Understand the Context: Consider the broader organizational environment, team dynamics, and culture. What seems like an issue in one area might be a symptom of a deeper problem elsewhere. Context is critical to accurate diagnosis. Once the right problem is identified, solving it effectively requires careful consideration. 💡 3 Considerations When Solving the Problem: Engage Multiple Perspectives: Involve diverse voices from across the organization. Different perspectives can reveal angles you might miss and lead to more robust solutions. Collaboration ensures broader acceptance and better outcomes. Resist the Quick Fix: It's tempting to go for quick solutions, but they often only address symptoms. Focus on sustainable solutions that tackle the root cause. This may take more time, but the long-term benefits are worth it. Reflect and Iterate: After implementing a solution, reflect on its impact. Did it address the problem effectively? Be prepared to iterate and adjust as needed. Continuous improvement is essential for long-term success. The most successful leaders don't just jump to solutions—they take the time to define the problem accurately. By doing so, they create a foundation for meaningful, lasting change. So, before you dive into solving what seems like an urgent issue, ask yourself: Am I truly solving the right problem? #Leadership #OrganizationalDevelopment #ProblemSolving #HybridWorkforce #Culture

How often do we hand our own voice to someone else? When we treat stories as owned by those who live them—not as “data points” to collect—we shift power back to the storyteller. In that space, people feel seen, heard, and free to share the moments that matter most, warts and all. True listening—pausing our questions, resisting quick fixes—creates breathing room for insights to surface. It means holding the tensions in someone’s experience instead of smoothing them over. Those contradictions are where real understanding lives, bringing depth that no tidy summary can capture. When we honour stories this way, they open doors. They help leaders glimpse lives beyond spreadsheets, planting empathy in boardrooms and council chambers. They guide policy by centring lived experience, and they spark our imaginations to dream new, fairer futures. Within teams, sharing stories builds trust, helps us process pain together, and reminds us why we do this work at all. Of course, stories can be hijacked turned into slick myths or stripped of their messiness until they harm rather than heal. To guard against that, we need to invest in story-listening: hire people who know how to hold space, forge long-term partnerships with storytellers, and carve out safe places for honest dialogue. Weaving narrative practice into our data work bring analysts and storytellers together, we can make storytelling a true force for collective change. For a deeper dive into how to listen, learn, and lead through stories, explore Storytelling for Systems Change: Listening to Understand, Thea Snow and Asitha Bandaranayaka at the Centre for Public Impact, Rachel Fyfe from Dusseldorp Forum and Lila Wolff from Hands Up Mallee: https://lnkd.in/gRVzG5rh #Storytelling #SDGs #WeAreBillionStrong #AXSChat #Love #Listening

BEFORE YOU INVEST IN STORY CAPABILITY: Some Orienting Questions I saw that Andreessen Horowitz — the world’s top venture capital firm — has hired a storytelling team. The trend continues! By some estimates, institutional storytelling roles have increased 200% in just the past 12 months. Is your team looking at an investment in the story skill set across the enterprise? Here are some questions you might ask yourself… along with some Do’s and Dont’s from someone who has been down this road a few times over the years! ❓WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING TO HAPPEN? 👎🏼 DON’T limit your expectations to better presentations or consistent branding (although you can certainly expect those outcomes.) 👍🏼 DO expect a cultural shift in which leaders extend the “most-human voice of meaning making” to advance the organization’s mission. story is a call for your people to bring more of their humanity to their leadership. ❓ HOW ARE YOU DEFINING THE WORD? 👎🏼 DON’T use “story” as a bucket synonym for “all things communication.” (These things are NOT stories: Talking points, data visualization, message strategies, value propositions, pitch decks, elevator speeches…) 👍🏼 DO think of it as a very specific language of engagement. It is humanity’s oldest and most a powerful language for meaning making. Stories are about people and change, including emotion content, with a powerful “transporting” effect on the audience ❓ WHO IN YOUR SYSTEM NEEDS THIS SKILL SET? 👎🏼 DON’T constrain this powerful capability to just your Chief Storytelling Officer or the Corporate Comms group. 👍🏼 DO extend it broadly! As in, anyone and everyone who needs to create “engagement and belief” in their work. (Hint: That’s pretty much everyone.) ❓ WHAT PROBLEMS ARE YOU EXPECTING THE STORY SKILL SET TO SOLVE? 👎🏼 DON’T limit it to marketing and sales. 👍🏼 DO think bigger! You can connect it to:  -Change initiatives - Introducing innovation - Knowledge sharing - Meaning making - Change management - Culture & identity - Values activation - Talent acquisition / onboarding - Employee engagement - Team development - Individual voice of influence … and, yes, marketing and sales. ❓ HOW WILL YOU ACTIVATE THE WORK? 👎🏼 DON’T drop story modules into your Learning Management System and expect the skill to activate. 👍🏼 DO link it to the work your people are doing now. Your teams will embrace the skill set when they see how powerfully it advances the projects they care about. ❓ HOW WILL YOU SCALE IT? 👎🏼 DON’T expect scattershot training programs or webinars to activate or embed the skill set. 👍🏼 DO find a licensing partner with a proven offering that can help you bring it in-house, delivered by your team in your voice, so you can embed it across the system. Most organizations aren’t thinking big enough when it comes to the story skill set. If you’re going to make the investment, get ALL of the value. Questions? DM me!

4 Simple Ways to Tell Stories 👇 [and How I Apply Them in My Journey] Storytelling is a powerful tool for communication. It conveys emotions, teaches lessons, and connects different cultures. I've personally experienced how storytelling fosters connections and inspires change. Storytelling is a crucial skill for anyone looking to help customers choose the right path to achieve their goals. In my professional journey, I've found that data alone doesn't drive action—it's stories that do. Storytelling is crucial for impactful leadership, client interactions, and explaining complex concepts. Here are four powerful storytelling frameworks that have shaped my approach: 1️⃣ Pyramid Principle (Barbara Minto) The Pyramid Principle advocates for presenting your conclusion upfront. This method allows me to communicate efficiently, especially with senior leaders. Structuring my arguments logically enhances the clarity of intricate issues. --- 2️⃣ SCR Framework (McKinsey) Situation, Complication, Resolution. This approach highlights the urgency of a challenge. It’s about presenting a compelling narrative that leads to actionable solutions. It’s my go-to for high-stakes presentations. --- 3️⃣ Golden Circle (Simon Sinek) Start with the Why. This reminds me to always connect actions to purpose. By explaining the ‘why’ behind a strategy, teams become more aligned and motivated. I use this often during sessions with my mentees. --- 4️⃣ Story of Self/Us/Now (Marshall Ganz) Marshall Ganz, an organizer in the migrant farmworkers' movement and a Senior Lecturer at Harvard, created the public narrative methodology in the 1990s for community organizing based on values. Public narrative teaches people to share personal stories effectively, building a community around shared experiences and values. This can motivate large numbers of people to take action on important issues. I used this during my days as a citizen reporter. --- 💡 Stories are 22x more memorable than facts. They're for anyone wanting to make an impact. Which framework resonates with you? Share below. ⤵️ --- P.S. I would love to discuss how you can incorporate storytelling into your journey! Happy Sunday! Shivendra 🙏

🔹 Storytelling in Leadership: 5 Keys to Inspiring Your Team 🔹 Great leaders don’t just communicate. They captivate. A well-told story doesn’t just share information; it connects, inspires, and drives action. Data and directives might instruct a team, but stories make ideas stick, bring values to life, and create alignment. Whether leading a major transformation, rallying a team, or reinforcing company culture, storytelling is a leadership superpower. 💡 5 Ways to Use Storytelling to Lead with Impact: ✅ Know Your Audience – A story only works if it resonates. Tailor your message to your team’s challenges and aspirations. 📌 Example: If your team faces a tough project, share a real-world example of overcoming similar obstacles. ✅ Create Relatable Characters – People connect with people. The best stories feature real challenges, emotions, and lessons. 📌 Example: Share your own leadership struggles and breakthroughs—your team will relate more to authenticity than perfection. ✅ Use Conflict to Build Engagement – Every great story has a challenge that must be overcome. 📌 Example: If your team resists, tell a story about a transition that initially seemed difficult but led to big wins. ✅ Keep It Simple and Authentic – Strip away jargon, keep the message clear, and ensure your story is concise. 📌 Example: If the goal reinforces teamwork, focus on a moment when collaboration made a difference. ✅ End with a Clear Takeaway – A great story leaves a lasting impression and prompts action. 📌 Example: After sharing a story about resilience, ask your team what steps they can take to adopt a similar mindset. 🚀 Where to Apply Storytelling in Leadership: 1️⃣ Team Meetings – Use stories to energise and align your team. 2️⃣ Onboarding – Share stories about company culture to help new hires connect with your mission. 3️⃣ Giving Feedback – Frame constructive criticism within a relatable story of growth and learning. 📌 Final Thought: Great leadership isn’t just about setting direction—it’s about telling stories that inspire action. Start small. Share a personal experience reinforcing a key lesson, and watch how it transforms engagement. 🔗 Full blog post below. What’s a leadership story that’s shaped your approach? Let’s share insights! 📌 #Leadership #Storytelling #Communication #Inspiration #TeamEngagement

Is your team stuck in the “Insanity Loop”? Doing the same things, in the same way, and expecting different results. It’s more common than you think - even in high-performing teams. Here are 3 subtle signs the loop might be at play: 1. Everyone’s busy, but progress is patchy There’s constant movement, but not meaningful momentum. Activity doesn’t always equal advancement. 2. The same problems keep resurfacing You’ve had the meeting. You’ve agreed on the actions. But somehow, here it is again - the same issue, slightly repackaged. 3. Training has happened, but transformation hasn’t People know what to do, but behaviour hasn’t shifted. New ways of working are not happening. A favourite Go M.A.D. technique that leaders and teams can use to break out of the insanity loop is The 20 Answer Technique. It’s one of the fastest ways to unlock new thinking, fresh ideas, and a clear path forward. Here’s how it works… Turn a problem into a possibility-based question - then answer it 20 different ways. Do this in 4 simple steps: 1.  Write down the problem as a statement e.g. “We’re not hitting our targets.” 2.  Reframe it into a solution-focused question. Start with: “What could I possibly…?” “How could I possibly…?” “Who could I possibly…?” Or, for a team, “How could we possibly improve our performance this month?” 3. Write 20 different answers – fast Do this in one go, without judging or analysing responses. Quantity matters more than quality at this stage. 4. Review your answers Highlight next steps. Often, one or two golden ideas will jump out. Here’s a bonus tip: Use this before or during meetings – turn agenda items into questions and ask attendees to submit or bring 20 answers. Apply this anytime a problem persists for longer than 48 hours – redefine it as a question and list 20 possibilities as quickly as you can. What breakthrough have you had using solution-focused questions? Let me know. #Leadership #ThinkingDifferently #TeamPerformance #ProblemSolving #SolutionFocused #OrganisationalEffectiveness

Storytelling isn't a one-time event. Here's how we made it stick at a leading tech company: Ever attended a brilliant workshop, only to find everyone had forgotten everything within a couple of weeks? You're not alone. It's actually quite normal. And as a trainer/ consultant myself, I realised that lasting change required more than just great content. Because there are actually THREE pillars of learning: 1. Relevant content 2. Personal motivation 3. Great learning environment I knew I could nail the first pillar on my own, but for all 3 I needed the help of management. This is how I work now: - 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽: I collaborate with leadership to set clear, actionable goals. What changes do they want to see? How will we measure success? - 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽: Managers participate, showing their commitment and gaining the tools to reinforce learning. - 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽: Regular follow-up calls with both participants and managers. We troubleshoot, celebrate wins, and tweak approach where needed. The result? A culture where storytelling isn't just a skill – it's part of the DNA. Transformation isn't about one-off training. It's about creating an ecosystem where new skills can flourish. Are you a leader looking to embed storytelling in your company culture? Let's connect and explore how this approach could revolutionise your team's communication. Comment below or shoot me a DM!