Multicultural leadership is an inclusive management style that values cultural diversity. It’s complemented by storytelling — a tool to inspire, motivate, and uplift.
Connecting and empathizing with a variety of people is a fundamental part of multicultural leadership. In this post, we’ll explain how you can do this using leadership storytelling as a way of engaging multicultural teams.
With practice, you’ll see how effective storytelling can help you nurture connections and promote alignment across diverse teams. Table of Contents:
Why Storytelling Matters in Multicultural Leadership
Storytelling is a powerful means to build trust and connect with diverse audiences. It's more than talking about your personal journey. Storytelling aims to create an emotional connection with the audience, leaving them uplifted and inspired.
Successful storytelling techniques for leaders encompass a range of soft skills that help them achieve this aim:
Two-way communication. Your story must also be the audience’s story. Involve them in your narrative by asking them questions about their experiences. You can also find out which details of your story resonate with them. Then ask them to add their own details.
Listening. You may be the narrator, but you also need to listen to your audience. How do they react to your words? Invite their feedback. Acknowledging that you’ve heard their point of view helps build trust.
Sensitivity. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to storytelling, particularly in diverse teams. When you’re preparing your story, think about how it relates to your audience. Is it a subject they can engage with? Does it also align with your shared goals? Make sure your story is meaningful to your audience and reflects your shared experience.
How Storytelling Improves Engagement
When you’re telling a story to a diverse audience — whether that’s your team or another group — your key aim is to transcend cultural barriers. To show relatable leadership, focus on universal human emotions, shared experiences, and values.
To help you do this, communicate the ups and downs of your journey. For example, when talking about how you got to your senior position, don't leave out the challenges and failures. These will inspire your audience as much as hearing about your success. As a flawed human being, you will be easier to relate to.
You can also draw inspiration from the world of sports to illustrate accomplishment versus failure. Or classic folk tales to demonstrate values and consequences. Using cherished stories is a way of engaging multicultural teams and building a sense of unity.
Techniques for Effective Multicultural Storytelling
These effective techniques for culturally sensitive storytelling will help you deliver your message with impact:
Understand your team’s cultural backgrounds. Encourage people to talk about heritage and upbringing. You can do this in a genuine and sensitive way, inviting them to tell you about their experiences instead of asking questions. Then do your research. Discover the values and experiences that are likely to mean something to your multicultural team members. Weave these into the fabric of your story.
Highlight universal themes like resilience and teamwork. Resilience is about adapting to changing circumstances and problem-solving. Teamwork draws on the strengths of everyone in the community. Both values are built on diverse perspectives and are relevant to multicultural teams.
Use inclusive language and avoid stereotypes. Educate yourself about appropriate language. This helps to avoid cultural insensitivity and is part of inclusive leadership. If you’re not sure what words or phrases to use, ask your team for advice. The same goes for stereotypes. Check and check again that any examples you’re using aren’t lazy or offensive.
Photo credit: Tima Miroshnichenko You can also help your team feel included in storytelling by inviting them to share their experiences. Each one is valuable. You can do this by creating a team “story circle.” Sit together and let members take turns to share their story so you can all learn from different perspectives.
Build Stronger Connections Through Storytelling
Storytelling is a valuable technique to help you connect with your teams and promote engagement. It should be delivered with cultural intelligence and be based on awareness, knowledge, and sensitivity.
By practising the techniques outlined in this post, you can achieve stronger bonds and a sense of unity with your team members. As part of your development as a multicultural leader, set aside some time for storytelling. Make it a dialogue between you and your employees to ensure that both sides get to tell their story.
The Tough Convos team can help you learn more about storytelling and multicultural leadership. Take a look at our resources or book a conversation with us to find out more.
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