What leaders tell and employees hear – an intention-perception model of storytelling in leadership

Johannes Stark,Julia A.M Reif,Tom Schiebler

doi:10.1108/omj-02-2021-1156

Abstract

Purpose Storytelling is considered an effective leadership behavior. However, research on storytelling’s effects on followers is scarce and disconnected from leadership theory. This paper aims to explore the perspectives of both leaders and followers with a focus on interaction-based moderators and affective mediators of storytelling effects, building on transformational leadership and leader-member exchange theory. Design/methodology/approach Data from semi-structured interviews (N = 27 independent leaders and followers) were analyzed with a combined content-analytic and grounded theory approach. Findings Leaders’ intended effects of storytelling (transformation, relationship and information) evoked either positive or negative affective reactions in followers depending on how well the story met followers’ needs (need-supply fit), the adequacy of the input load transported by the story (story load) and how followers interpreted their leaders’ story (story appraisal). Followers’ positive or negative affective reactions translated into positive effects (corresponding to leaders’ intended effects) or negative effects (contradicting leaders’ intended effects), respectively. Results were integrated into an intention-perception model of storytelling. Originality/value Proposing an intention-perception model of storytelling, this paper explains when and why unintended effects of storytelling happen, and thus provides an alternative view to the one-fits-all approach on leaders’ storytelling advocated by popular management literature.

Highlights

Storytelling in organizations is a particular form of leader-follower interaction in which past and future human experiences are shared (Boje, 1991)
This may be due to the fact that previous research has mainly analyzed leaders’ storytelling from the viewpoint of a neutral observer (Flory & Iglesias, 2010) and has mostly focused on specific contexts in which leaders told stories, e.g. during organizational change (Boje, 1991), leaving out far more common “everyday” leadership settings
Building on transformational leadership (TFL), leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, and empirical data, we developed a theoretical model that describes the effects of leaders’ storytelling, integrating both leaders’ intentions and followers’ perceptions

Summary

Introduction

Storytelling in organizations is a particular form of leader-follower interaction in which past and future human experiences are shared (Boje, 1991). Stories, including analogies, metaphors, anecdotes, or even jokes (Buchanan & Dawson, 2007), told by leaders in daily interactions can have beneficial effects on followers, such as facilitating understanding and enhancing loyalty (Gill, 2011). Existing literature falls short of taking into account characteristics of leaderfollower interactions and followers’ affective responses when explaining effects of leaders’ storytelling. This may be due to the fact that previous research has mainly analyzed leaders’ storytelling from the viewpoint of a neutral observer (Flory & Iglesias, 2010) and has mostly focused on specific contexts in which leaders told stories, e.g. during organizational change (Boje, 1991), leaving out far more common “everyday” leadership settings

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