Why internal storytelling is the missing link for remote teams, and how to solve it
The highs, the lows, the successes, the failures, the heartbreak. As anyone who has built a company from the ground up knows, all of these things could happen on any given day in business. And as time passes, these stories become immortalised.
We tend to think of this happening for high profile companies through the media that loves nothing more than providing commentary on the latest ‘overnight business success story’ or ‘genius founder’.
But it is so much more, and deeper, than that. And it’s relevant to any company.
As any founder or early employee will know, stories do more than build brands. They become part of company folklore and the cornerstone of internal culture.
I experienced this first hand in the early days of partnering with founders in the building two startups, TalkLife and PickStar. For both companies, I’m convinced it was internal storytelling that kept us motivated, engaged, galvanised and hopeful in those early, tumultuous years. Our stories of survival became testimonies that reminded us that we could, and would, get through this next challenge (which was usually just around the corner).
I could write a book about my time at PickStar alone. There were the big yarns; the early exit that fell through, a promised large investment that never quite appeared in our bank account, the last minute dash across the world to present a novelty cheque to a Test cricket team (100% true, see pic below) … I’m barely scraping the surface.
These stories are important pillars to chart the history of the company, to demonstrate how far we’ve come and to build connection and engagement with new and future employees.
And while this is key, it’s the everyday stories, while less newsworthy, which are even more critical to company culture.
Hearing founder James Begley on the phone to his Chairman talking about raising much needed funds and making payroll. Having drinks on a Tuesday afternoon with our three person team in our near empty, dilapidated office celebrating the one, tiny deal we did that kept us alive. The confronting, personal and hard conversations about business and life. These day to day happenings became the stories that really made us, as a team, buy in. We became invested in the success of the company, and our success as individuals. And because of this, we would be motivated to link arms and go to war together.
There was no internal storytelling strategy and we weren’t consciously using these narratives to build culture. It was an unspoken benefit of spending every day working and building together, usually from desks that were just a few metres apart.
But now, as more companies adopt full or hybrid remote work models, I fear that these crucial, culture building stories could go unwritten.
Internal storytelling is a missing piece in the remote work puzzle.
Firstly, I’d like to declare that I am a huge advocate for remote work and just about everything about it. I’m an Australian citizen with an Australian business and Australian clients, currently based in Northern California, working with team members across Australia, US, South Africa and the UK.
I enjoy the benefits of remote work every day. The opportunities, efficiencies and flexibility has been incredible.
But internal storytelling is the missing link.
Sure, when major company developments occur, we talk about the ins and outs in team calls over Zoom. We have video meetings to thrash out the key challenges. Our meetings, emails and Slack messages are tight and on point.
But we no longer have the reason or time to go off script, to find out the back story, or ask questions that are off agenda but might help us connect to each other, and the company, in a deeper way.
We’re no longer in the same room together, sharing lunch or coffee, or chatting over a beer at 5pm on a Friday (Zoom drinks don’t count, there’s nothing more depressing).
We’re missing the little, but crucial, daily stories that weave together the fabric of company culture.
It might feel trivial, and maybe the impact won’t be noticed in a matter of months or even a year. But in this post pandemic, remote, work from home world the risk is that we’ll build soulless companies that we are not personally or emotionally invested in. And that’s bad news for founders and employees, as performance, development, retention and recruitment suffers as a consequence.
So how do we get intentional about internal storytelling in the age of remote work, and retain our invaluable culture IP?
Despite the challenges, remote and distributed teams can still foster internal storytelling effectively. Here’s just a few suggestions.
Share it.
The most obvious point first. Founders need to create a culture, framework and the space to share stories among their teams. Go deeper. Ask questions of each other outside of the practical and the norm. It is crucial to intentionally go beyond the daily agendas and to-do lists.
The founders and leaders set the tone, starting with being radically transparent and open about their journeys. This could start with a simple team Q and A or AMA weekly (or whatever frequency works), which will send the signal that authentic stories are welcomed and embraced, and this will filter through teams.
Record it.
Teams need to get proactive about recording and documenting company stories. The good, bad and ugly. This has to be more than the PR mindset of milestones, media releases and other feel good, fluffy stuff.
It could be an internal podcast. A newsletter series. Even a diary or journal, to begin with.
And it’s not just founders. Employees bring unique perspectives and angles that become invaluable to company culture. It’s everyone’s responsibility to create the narrative.
Embed it.
For internal storytelling to be part of the culture, even in a remote or distributed team, leaders need to own it by building systems and processes to ensure it becomes part of the company DNA.
It won’t just happen. Time needs to be carved out and scheduled outside of the standard Zoom meetings for these open conversations and recordings. And it needs to happen like clockwork, week after week.
Build on it.
Transforming the internal storytelling culture doesn’t just happen over night. It’s a step by step process, and requires long-term commitment from all involved. Start by introducing one storytelling initiative. Then another. And another. Then momentum comes.
Treasure it.
Telling stories is one thing, but they have to really mean something. Celebrate the stories and all of the characters who have contributed along the way. Commemorate the memories and honour the heroes. Team members will gain fresh understanding about the battles that have been won before their time, and will want to play their own role too.
The internal storytelling problem is far from insurmountable. And without a doubt there are remote companies that are already doing this well. If you have examples, or want to talk about storytelling ideas, let me know in the comments or send me an email.
