Week 11

The topic of discussion this week in class this week was storytelling and how we can use story telling to be better leaders. Class met at the Magic Kingdom and we examined the turnstile area, Main Street USA, the hub, and Liberty Square. At each location we looked at how the imagineers told a story to our guests in each different location. Most of this was done through the little details that a majority of our guests will never pick out individually, but when you combine them all together they deliver the story.

What does this have to do with becoming a better leader? Not all of us are going to become an imagineer and design Disney theme parks. However, there is something to being able to tell your employees the story that they are to deliver to the customers.

By being a good storyteller you do four things with your workers: 1. You establish a rapport 2. You establish credibility 3. You build trust and 4. You communicate your vision.

By being able to communicate well and tell your "story" to your workers you are going to create a tighter and closer group of workers. They trust you, they are going to be more open with you, they are going to be more willing to come discuss improvement ideas that they may have. It's not so much about being able to tell this wonderful "story" to your workers, but rather it is about being able to communicate to them well and establish an open line of communication. Workers want to trust their leaders and know that what they are hearing from their leaders is credible and the truth. You have to present yourself and your vision in such a way that people want to follow you. Make them want to take this journey with you.

Our imagineers realized that not every single little detail is going to be noticed by every guest. However, they also realized that those small details add up to deliver an overall atmosphere that every guest can identify and describe to their family and friends. The same can be said about being a leader. Do the small things. Not every worker is going to notice every little thing you do, however, it will all add up to a great work environment.