Telling Stories: Rhetoric and Leadership,a Case Study

Abstract

Often one hears that leaders lead through action, by example. But more often, and often more effectively, leaders lead through their words, by acts of speech, as it were. They are frequently called upon to speak and write, formally and informally, to convey their vision for their organization to their staff and constituents. In doing so, they are not only announcing that vision, but are engaging in a rhetorical negotiation with their audience, trying out words, phrases, and literary constructions to better and more convincingly communicate their vision of their organization and the direction in which they wish to take it. If their rhetoric fails, or is not wholly successful, they strive to change or modify it. Through such verbal exchanges, leaders communicate the style and substance of their leadership and give form and imaginative life to their vision for the organization. Howard Gardner (1995), the Harvard psychologist, has written that ‘[L]eaders achieve their effectiveness chiefly through the stories they relate’. He calls these stories ‘stories of identity’, narratives ‘that help individuals think about and feel who they are, where they come from, and where they are headed’ and that such stories ‘constitute the single most powerful weapon in the leader’s literary arsenal’. This essay recounts, as a case study, the role of such stories in the turnaround of an organization, the Harvard University Art Museums, and reflects generally on the role of rhetoric in leadership.