The Art of Story—Michael Morrison
The Art of Story – “An Ancient Tool for Modern Projects”
In our modern fast paced society, technology has given us so many new ways to share information with tools such as email, smartphone, social media and skype and so many reasons not to take time out to reflect. Too often we communicate electronically, we tabulate, we diarise, we list, we number, we bullet point, however too seldom in the modern world do we engage in face to face informal discussions where we share knowledge, too seldom do we reflect.
We sit bolt upright in uncomfortable chairs around rectangular tables, in dull grey vinyl boardrooms and we recite line by line information in the form of meeting minutes which have been on the agenda for weeks. Are we engaged? Are we actively listening? Do we remember anything when we walk out of the room? Do we take this explicit invaluable knowledge and use it to add value to our work for decades to come? In my experience, I would say no and that a large percentage of this knowledge and lessons learnt is lost in translation.
The paper I have written talks about how we can improve the way we practice Project Management through reflection, and how art of storytelling can be used as a tool for modern Projects. In addition, I explore how we can become more powerful leaders by using story as a way to reflect, share knowledge and get our message across, it has been said that if “a picture is worth a thousand words, a story is worth a thousand pictures” (Dan Pink). It is this improved practice of leadership through reflection and storytelling which will improve performance at an individual, project and organisational level.
Author: Michael Morrison
Review status: Postgraduate assignment (University of Technology Sydney)
