Excerpted from Leading from the Lions' Den: Leadership Principles from Every Book of the Bible, by Tom Harper (B&H, Sept. 2010)

“Why was Solomon recognized as the wisest man in the world? Because he knew more
stories (proverbs) than anyone else.” 
– Alan Kay, a former Disney Fellow and well-known IT innovator

Blockbuster movies and novels get our attention with dramatic openers. But after the initial shock to our senses, the writers connect us to the characters by revealing facts about their lives: what they care about, whom they love, what they do for a living. Now we suddenly care about them as people. Action and drama aren’t enough to hold our attention by themselves for two hours – we must identify with the people first.

In an organization, great storytelling is done the same way: attention-getter, facts, plot. Most leaders, however, either overdo the fanfare or jump right into the plot. Listeners are hooked by facts about themselves – especially their accomplishments and failures.

In Deuteronomy, Moses delivers the mother of all stories. He gets his people’s attention by reminding them of the adventures of their 40 years wandering in the desert. He tells them matter-of-factly that they will suffer great curses if they turn away from God.

Then he shocks them with another fact about his own mortality: “I am now 120 years old; I can no longer act as your leader” (Deut. 31:2). He tells the people a new leader, Joshua, will take them into the Promised Land. But they have a choice for their future. If they follow God’s laws and Joshua’s lead, they will prosper. If they don’t, catastrophe will befall them. “See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity” (Deut. 30:15).

Moses instructs the people on how to set up a government, what holidays to celebrate, and how to wage war. Though he hasn’t yet delivered his people to the Promised Land, he uses a simple illustration to keep them focused and excited: plentiful milk and honey will be there for the taking. To people who had subsisted on manna for decades, this sounds like heaven!

Moses weaves history and facts into a vision for the future without the need for a whiz-bang PowerPoint presentation or emotional pleas. He encourages everyone that they can in fact make it without him, and defeat the inhabitants in the new lands. When his people are reminded how far they’ve come, the impossible appears doable. Though the land is teeming with giants and a multitude of armies, he promises the Lord will deliver on his promise of a new home.

Jim Collins’ Good to Great explores a similar paradox: “Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties. And at the same time, confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Learning the art of storytelling equips leaders with everyday communication skills. A speech about the future or leadership succession is rare; it’s the weekly meetings that tend to lack memorable discussions. The best communicators tell stories out of habit. If you lack in this area, the following common situations will cue you when to use them.

1. Tell a story to drive home a point – A good story has a single lesson and sinks into people’s memories. If you want people to understand something, attach a story to it.

2. Tell stories if you need employee support – When people understand the dramatic tales behind the leader’s decisions, they more readily support those decisions.

3. Tell stories when you need to spread organizational culture – Anecdotes about happy customers or organizational history drive home who you are, reminding staff and volunteers of the core values they need to uphold.

4. Tell a story to enforce your vision – Are people failing to get behind your vision? Describe the future in story form (like Moses did). What will happen when the organization reaches its goals? What reward is awaiting everyone?

The storytelling leader maintains a hold on reason while describing an adventure. Moses starts with the facts as he reviews his people’s history. More than just a reminder of what they’ve done, they understand in a new way who they are. He reestablishes a once-noble identity to a new generation.

When we remind our people of the stories of past successes and failures, they believe they can be successful again. They overcame their failures before; therefore they can do it once more. They triumphed with bouts of glory; they can rise to even higher heights.

Through these realities and truths, we can inspire people’s imaginations about the journey ahead.


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Tom Harper is president of NetWorld Alliance, which publishes www.churchcentral.com and several online news portals in the retail, banking, technology and restaurant industries.

He is author of Leading from the Lions’ Den: Leadership Principles from Every Book of the Bible, due to come out in Sept. 2010 (B&H Publishing). His Twitter account is @TomRHarper.