Here’s How Storytelling Bridges the Trust Gap Many Leaders Have

My case for why effective leadership uses the power of storytelling to gain trust and mobilize teams

Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

When you think of leadership, the words that come to mind are likely associated with direction, guidance, authority, influence, and inspiration. But what makes a person a great leader?

Leaders vs. Managers

Managers get a bad rap. A quick Google search of “leader vs. manager” reveals a gross misunderstanding of the difference between a subordinate role and inferior skills. While both leaders and managers are necessary to run a successful organization, managers often receive descriptions of inferiority when pitted against leaders. You’ve seen the shameless infographic comparisons:

• Leaders innovate, managers copy
• Leaders influence, managers dictate
• Leaders take risks, managers mitigate risk
• Leaders create the vision, managers execute it
• Leaders are people-focused, managers are task-oriented

Admittedly, I once bought into these oversimplified — yet quite compelling — articles and visuals. But after taking a closer look, I noticed that great managers have strong…