One question project: Beatrice Ngalula Kabutakapua
Why are stories relevant in the workplace?
When I was a little girl, growing up in Italy, I knew I was never going to be the president of a country, a TV journalist or a sports reporter. It wasn’t just that I didn’t want to, it was also because I thought I couldn’t: nobody in those spaces looked like me. In fact, they all look quite the opposite: white, middle-age, men, extroverts.
The idea that I couldn’t become part of my story, part of my belief to the point that I became very quiet and ended up acting shy (though I’m very much not). This is not just my reality, it’s not just my story. Unfortunately, it’s the story of many people from the so-called “historically marginalised backgrounds”: Black, Brown, women, men, folks living with a disability, people from the LGBTQIA+ community who have been consistently and systematically underestimated.
For us, being quiet becomes a way to protect ourselves. The downside to that is that, this way, voices are quieted, stories are not shared, people are not promoted. Yes, because these stories, these beliefs are brought to the workplace and are part of the reason why we don’t see enough diversity. Of course, the other part is about working with leaders to make voices heard. But you know what the first step to being heard is? Speaking up.
This is why with my work I bring stories to the workplace: it’s about helping leaders to speak up, feel confident and being seen on their own terms. But it’s also about promoting a culture that puts humans first. When organisations do that, everybody wins: profits increase, employees are more engaged, diversity rises.
We live in cultures where we are led to believe that storytelling only belongs to books, speeches and political spaces. However, it has been scientifically proven that we connect through stories, we understand better through stories and we empathise more.
Business storytelling in the workplace, whether that’s corporate or entrepreneurial, is about three things: confidence, visibility, and influence. Having a clear awareness of your story will give you confidence in sharing it. Also, the more you share your story, the more visible you are. This doesn’t mean you have to tell your deepest darkest secrets but that you select what’s helpful for your audience and pick that from your story box. The world belongs to those who can positively influence others, and a great story helps you do just that. Start here
About Beatrice:
Beatrice is the first person in the world to deeply explore the connection between lived experience and leadership.
If you ask her she’s going to tell you that she hated sharing her story, being under the spotlight until she realised storytelling is a great act of kindness.
Now she is on a mission to help leaders and entrepreneurs share their stories. So far she has impacted more than 10,000 people in three different continents and three languages.
Beatrice is the author of the upcoming book Lead with Your Story.
A former journalist, documentary maker and current business storytelling coach, she has been called a “genius” at what she does.
If you want to be part of this project or know someone who would, please go here.