Leading, Managing and Communicating Through Effective Storytelling

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Aroon P. Manoharan & Namrta Sharma
June 14, 2024

Public administrators can communicate in many different ways. Storytelling is a sensemaking tool that can explain complex issues to individuals and organizations. As an inclusive platform, especially for marginalized groups, it expands public discourse without relying on the crutch of techno-speak or formal arguments. A well-told story can help a large audience understand a public challenge. The public administrators can then prioritize their efforts through the narrative.

For example, the COVID-19 pandemic instigated one of the largest and most inclusive public health education endeavors in U.S. history. The “We Can Do This” campaign run by the Health and Human Services Department (HHS), featured 7000 ads in 14 languages, to encourage people to get vaccinated for the virus. On a very short time-frame, HHS partnered with social media platforms, involved celebrities and social media influencers sharing personal stories and experiences, and promoted widespread engagement in all communities.

Cities have harnessed the power of narrative by appointing their own storytellers. They are tasked with capturing the essence of their communities through a convincing story. This approach is also being adopted by public and private organizations, universities and nonprofit organizations. If an organization conveys its purpose and direction through an easily repeated story, it can reinforce its mission and vision among its workers, donors or relevant publics. Leaders adept at storytelling can effectively navigate complex relationships and dynamics within organizations and among their stakeholders. This is especially important as changes and realignments will become necessary to address immediate needs. The leader/storyteller should be able to weave those course corrections into the broader narrative of the organization’s core values. That stated, storytelling’s power can lead to unintended consequences. For that reason, an administrator must firmly grasp the context, characters, plot and relevance.

Aristotle’s principles of effective storytelling balance ethos (character), pathos (emotions) and logos (rationality). The skills to use these principles can be honed through training. A public administrator should develop their abilities to spot similarities and differences and to understand connections between the past, present and future. Another skill is to seek out and actively listen to others’ experiences. In short, a good storyteller is a good listener. Developing strong, compelling stories and communicating them effectively is a skill that can be learned.

Stories can be gleaned from various sources such as interviews, testimonies, biographies or digital content, each requiring a blend of rational and philosophical elements. Developing storytelling competence begins with cultivating a repository of compelling stories and actively listening to relevant narratives. Public administration is a discipline replete with success and failures that provide lessons for almost every situation. Highlighting those narrative lessons can improve organizational learning.

At the heart of every story are characters. Character-driven stories can have a positive impact on the morale and motivation within an organization. An audience can form an emotional bond and identify with a character. And, if they put themselves into the narrative through character identification, their buy-in for an organization’s goals will likely increase. Public administrators who are effective storytellers can skillfully weave relatable characters with data to engage and persuade communities on specific policies.

The integration of storytelling into one’s professional identity is a multifaceted endeavor requiring careful consideration. Skills development can include role modeling, and group practice combined with constructive feedback, to help refine an administrator’s storytelling skills. Manoharan and Rangarajan (2023b) outline the essential elements encompassing the antecedents of storytelling, the traits of public administrators as storytellers, and the necessary actions to cultivate storytelling proficiency, as shown in the below table.

Public administration embraces complex professional identities, and the introduction of the storyteller enriches the traditional role of public administrators and policymakers. Bevir (2011, p.190) suggests that “public administration is less about finding formal connections, than about telling stories about beliefs, actions, practices and their contexts.”  Such perspectives need to be integrated in the curriculum of academic programs to train the future public administrator as an effective storyteller. “Public administrator as a storyteller should be able to connect with multiple stakeholders and weave in their diverse perspectives in crafting a coherent story, and this needs to begin in the graduate classrooms through simulations and case studies” (Manoharan & Rangarajan, 2023a).

Effective communication of difficult messaging requires engaging both hearts and minds. In our technology-driven world, storytelling can foster connection, dialogue and citizen trust.

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Author: Dr. Aroon P. Manoharan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Service and Healthcare Administration, Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University, Boston. He is also the Director of the National Center for Public Performance at Suffolk University. His research interests include digital government, performance measurement, strategic planning, public communication, administrative capacity, and comparative public administration. His books include E-Government and Information Technology Management: Concepts and Best Practices; and E-Government and Websites: A Public Solutions Handbook. He is the recipient of the Jeanne Marie Col Leadership Award, Paul Volcker Junior Scholar Award, and John Carlin Public Administration Scholarship. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA), Rutgers University-Newark, and chairs the ASPA Section on International and Comparative Administration (SICA).

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