I recently enjoyed re-connecting with a cousin my age with whom I shared a close relationship more than fifty years ago. He lost his wife in January to a car hijacking gone wrong (in Brisbane!). We spent days telling each other our personal and professional stories. Powerful, unique, first hand, reflections full of nuance and detail which bridged the years and recreated that strong bond. It got me thinking.
Some years ago, I was part of a Microsoft initiative which connected our school to one in Finland and one in Colombia. The company created a seven-minute video telling the story of each school and they did so by following the day in the life of one learner at each school. The cameraman was in our learner’s home in Mangaung, in the packed rattling taxi taking her to school, among her friends and in class. There’s surely no better way to view a school’s ethos than through the eyes, words, actions and attitude of a learner. If you’re watching the video version of this letter, you’re seeing Mantele Senoge as a Gr9 learner in 2011 and getting engaged in London in 2024.
The best educators, entertainers, elders and preachers are master storytellers. I’d like to delve into the idea of the principal as storyteller. Think about it: if you’re not telling the school’s daily or weekly stories, then someone else is.
Speaking and storytelling are crafts that require structure, technique and consistent practice. Suzan Hart, who regards herself a mindset mentor, says that storytelling is not a soft skill, it’s a leadership superpower. Gallagher and Thordarson, the communication experts say that you can either push information out or pull people in with a story.
Allow me to share with you, as personal examples, simple very short true stories which I have used many times in letters and speeches to make an important point. As a storytelling principal you are sharing a part of yourself, your vulnerability, your personality. You are engendering trust.
When my daughter, Kristina, graduated, I plonked myself in the front row of that great hall at UCT. ‘Dad, you’re not the principal’. I know. But my life has been a front row seat wherever promise and potential, through dedication, rigour and grit, become life-changing performance. You have a very special front row seat with a view of every face in your school.
I remember finishing my first Midmar Mile, the biggest open water swim in the world. I swam alongside a colleague. After 400 metres and about 40 litres, I said to her, That’s it. I’m out of here.’ And she looked at me as if I was in Gr 8 and shouted, ‘Listen. Shut up and swim.’ Like so many others (three bus loads) I only swam that Mile because a charismatic, unforgettable teacher had inspired us to commit to something we didn’t think possible at the time. It taught us all a life lesson.
The point is that stories are not just told, they’re carefully crafted for maximum impact, humour and memorability. Personal stories reveal your personality and engender trust. I promise you that your teachers will forget the meetings and the report remarks, but they’ll remember and retell the stories. And, as you can see, they don’t need to be long.
Stories build connection. Stories make strategy stick. Stories Inspire action.
Imagine committing a school to participating in a run/walk? It can be planned carefully with multiple rounds of a route around the school block or even just a street or two with the support of traffic wardens, police, paramedics, celebrities, etc. Can you encourage and succeed in getting 100% participation? Yes, with the right story.
Yes, you can compare the distance to any life challenge; put your minds to making it work; get teachers and parents on board; include the route community; the school’s sponsors. Call it ‘Stride for Success’ or ‘Unity Run’ or ‘Fit for Future’ or ‘Mandela Day Freedom Walk’. Or give it a theme: ‘Building Resilience One Step at a Time’. It might be topical to sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. The ideas are endless. Telling the story right makes all the difference to any project.
You have so many stories of learners with incredible resilience, others with great compassion or creativity or neatness or just amazing loyalty to their school. Their stories reflect your school’s values and your vision. As a master storyteller, you encourage your teachers and learners to tell theirs.
But remember, keep your staffroom or assembly story brief, visual and punchy. Headteacher Jan Scotland: ‘If it can’t be told in the time it takes to make a cup of tea, it’s not a story – it’s a sermon.
Paul
Coach/Mentor
The Principals Academy Trust
No: 07/25
15 May 2025
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Storytelling is not a soft skill, it’s a Leadership SUPERPOWER.