Building reputation with story and narrative

Review of The Narrative Age and five questions with author Frank Wolf

Very few communicators or leaders succeed in articulating clearly and simply the distinction between narrative and story, why both are important, and how companies can use them to build their reputation. Frank Wolf has done this in his excellent book The Narrative Age: How leaders can inspire change in a polarized world.

As co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Staffbase, an employee and corporate communications platform, Frank is a leader, a communicator, and a communications advocate. There probably isn't anyone better placed to have written this book and I'm glad he did.

My copy is filled with pencil underlinings, post-it notes with ! on and scribbles to self. It is full of rich insights for me as a communicator, an advisor to senior leaders and as the author of a forthcoming book. Be prepared to see quotes from The Narrative Age in We Need New Leaders!

I'll try to articulate some key findings here:

Frank very clearly shows that stories are the tiles that create the mosaic of narrative (his metaphor). Think story + story + story = narrative. I love this, because the two have been used interchangeably to date, and his definition is pragmatic and useful. The argument also shows that narrative + narrative + narrative = reputation, and this makes sense to me because in my recent MSc thesis on reputation, I found (and Frank concurs) that companies build reputation slowly and proactively over time.

One of the most useful concepts in the book to illustrate this is the idea of the narrative moat. According to Frank, 'a "moat" in a business context is a company's competitive advantage that is difficult for competitors to imitate or overcome, It protects the business much like a moat protects a castle. Strong narratives are able to build long-lasting competitive advantages for organizations.'

You build strong narratives as a moat against incursions such as reputational risk. When something goes wrong, and your reputation is at stake, your narrative moat is there to protect you.

Another idea I enjoyed in the book is that the North Star is the heart, or core, of the narrative moat. He suggests that the North Star is targeted first at employees, because reputation is built from the inside, and then at all other audiences and stakeholders. And 'a great North Star makes us care' - so reader beware, if you're creating a North Star and no-one cares then you're risking losing, or worse boring, all your audiences. Make it worth the effort!

As a long-term executive communicator, I loved the section about how transformational leaders use narrative to build credibility. According to Frank, 'Stakeholders will become more convinced that a company can achieve its aspirational goals if the CEO builds a narrative of bold decision-making. External stakeholders value senior leaders who are well-aligned with and passionate about their organization's mission and constantly demonstrate that they will do what it takes to get there.'  And internal stakeholders are inspired by a mission and vision that connects the organization's narrative with their personal ones. Frank compares transformational leaders to old-school transactional leaders who motivate through carrot and stick.

I've cherry-picked some of my favourite parts of the book, but it has so much more to offer. It is a handbook for leaders who want to inspire and for communicators who want to help leaders build convincing narratives to shore up reputation. There is an extremely useful chapter on CommsTech and AI in communications, as well as several real-world examples from industry and practical strategies to craft narratives that really land.

The Narrative Age is a genuine treasure trove of insights for anyone who wants to understand narrative and use it to inspire, convince and motivate an audience for change. Here’s a Q&A I had with Frank after reading the book:

Charlotte: What helped you land on the title The Narrative Age?

Frank Wolf: Finding a title for the book was quite a process, to be honest. I had a couple of title ideas but realized at some point that it's not necessary to have the final title before starting to write. I knew I wanted to write a book about the power of narratives and used that as a working title. About six months in, the idea of "The Narrative Age" emerged. What I love about it is that it already tells a story. It’s a transformation from a time when narratives were present but not the focus. Many people talked about storytelling, but the patterns that emerge in our minds from these stories are narratives. In a noisy world, where complex problems have only seconds to be understood by an audience, a deep understanding of narratives becomes much more important. This is our reality now, and that's why, in this new age, it’s time for leaders and communicators to focus much more on the narratives they are building.

Charlotte: As you know, I love the idea of the narrative moat. Could you talk a bit about why it matters for reputation, and if it’s different for CEO versus company reputation?

Frank: I asked a communicator I have known for a long time what he thinks about narratives. His answer was that, with a lot of effort and explanation, he got his CEO to understand the concept of storytelling, but the whole idea of narratives was just too complex or abstract to explain. I think this is a good description of the challenge of communication. It needs to find a better way to convey its value and the things it's building. The Communications function builds reputation, but that's a very general point of view and it’s not really actionable for most communicators. What communications actually does is to build specific narratives around the company, such as employer narratives, investor narratives, or value narratives for its customers. The narrative moat is a term that is hopefully very descriptive of the protection that all of these narratives provide and the ways they create a long-term competitive advantage for any organization. I hope this term helps leaders to better understand what they gain from communications.

Charlotte: What is it about using narratives that helps leaders better manage transformation and change?

Frank: I think the key insight here is that you can only lead people to change if they are ready to follow you to a new state of things and a new set of realities. In this process, a better understanding of the beliefs your audience shares is incredibly helpful. In the book, I describe the concept of a narrative map, which helps you understand which existing narratives you can attempt to change and which are too deeply embedded. However, deeply embedded narratives don't necessarily prevent change; in fact, they can provide common ground. For example, if you have a cost-cutting program and want to explain why it is necessary, it is powerful to turn to the narrative map and maybe discover that the identity of the organization has long been focused on cost-effectiveness.

The narrative of doing more with less has led to the company's success in the first place.

Charlotte: What do you most hope that leaders and communicators learn from The Narrative Age?

Frank: I hope that it helps turn great communication into a skill that can be learned and understood. Right now, it's often seen as a talent or a gift that you either have or don't have. A very simple example is empathy. Some people are more empathetic than others, but I would say that if a group of leaders has thought about the narrative map of their audience, it automatically creates more empathy and understanding about the point of view of others. It would be great if the book could play at least a small part in helping people better understand differing or opposing points of view, especially in our polarized times.

Charlotte: The book looks beautiful, and the illustrations are great. Why did you decide to pursue the self-publishing route?

Frank: I published a book with a publisher in 2011, and while the process was good, it took a long time and involved many meetings and tight restrictions on copyright and usage of the book. These days, the self-publishing option offers a lot of freedom and the quality is amazing. The resources at hand are incredible, from Amazon's global print-on-demand service to the great professional editors one can hire, and even artificial intelligence that helps create beautiful illustrations. Additionally, I was lucky to have an amazing design and editing team at Staffbase.