Corporate storytelling in a leadership context
Kirjalainen, Mari (2023)
Kirjalainen, Mari
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202303234079
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202303234079
Tiivistelmä
Storytelling in leadership was one of the topics of the commissioner project. Workshops of the project revealed a clear need for the method, to promote leadership development and increase workplace interaction.
Storytelling in a leadership context was not a familiar concept to many leaders in small and medium-sized companies, and therefore the benefits of the method were worth researching. The goal of the thesis was to study, how corporate narratives and storytelling can be used as tools in leadership and what benefits they bring to the company.
The thesis developed as a multiple-case study. The theoretical framework discussed corporate stories, their concept and purpose, and narrative and interactive leadership. Also, the effective usage of storytelling in leadership was included in the theory. Qualitative research methods of observation and open interviews were implemented in the empirical part of the thesis when leaders of the commissioning project in the Kymenlaakso region were studied. The collected data were analysed with the thematic coding method.
The study showed that corporate storytelling in leadership brings additional value to the company regarding brand building, well-being at work, employee engagement, building trust and transferring knowledge. The results support the goals of the commissioning project, which is to coach case companies to utilise the method of storytelling in their leadership.
Storytelling in a leadership context was not a familiar concept to many leaders in small and medium-sized companies, and therefore the benefits of the method were worth researching. The goal of the thesis was to study, how corporate narratives and storytelling can be used as tools in leadership and what benefits they bring to the company.
The thesis developed as a multiple-case study. The theoretical framework discussed corporate stories, their concept and purpose, and narrative and interactive leadership. Also, the effective usage of storytelling in leadership was included in the theory. Qualitative research methods of observation and open interviews were implemented in the empirical part of the thesis when leaders of the commissioning project in the Kymenlaakso region were studied. The collected data were analysed with the thematic coding method.
The study showed that corporate storytelling in leadership brings additional value to the company regarding brand building, well-being at work, employee engagement, building trust and transferring knowledge. The results support the goals of the commissioning project, which is to coach case companies to utilise the method of storytelling in their leadership.