Julia knew the culture wasn’t right. As a new HR manager in a legacy male-dominated organisation, she’d already noticed some examples of everyday sexism that made her feel uncomfortable. It’s not that there was a bad attitude at the top, but with what she’d seen, combined with her knowledge of the evidence that formal reporting rarely works to reveal bad behaviour, she knew an intervention was needed.
Meantime, Kalinda wasn’t going to take it anymore. She had come in on an accelerated graduate programme. Of course, she was lucky to get the position. But she reminded herself they were lucky to get her. A first in maths and a master’s in engineering from Cambridge. But why did they have to put her with that idiot Hansford? Yes, he’d done a lot of big projects, but his attitude was awful. Had he ever met a woman before? He wasn’t much interested in her opinion, but he was a bit too interested in her appearance. She’d taken to covering up to keep his eyes off her. It’s not what you’d call a modern workplace.
Julia knew nothing about Kalinda. Even though Kalinda had complained to her line manager, James. James knew Hansford and spoke to him privately. He was tactful, without mincing his words. Admittedly, Hansford’s response wasn’t fully convincing, but with the project only a month from completion, James reluctantly convinced himself the pragmatic response was to take no further action.
A month later, Kalinda came to James to hand in her notice. Turns out Hansford’s behaviour had actually escalated. And by the end of the project, Kalinda felt harassed, unappreciated, and unsupported.
Julia knew nothing about Kalinda, James, or Hansford because she’d not yet created them. Theirs was the story she shared as a fictional video drama to present to the organisation, wrapped in a carefully designed campaign. The film took some of the underlying tensions and conflicts around issues of sex equality and extrapolated them into a dramatic tale that provided a powerful talking point.
The intervention triggered a snowball of meaningful discussion. A new environment emerged in which people felt licenced to have uncomfortable conversations.
As a result, real-life Kalindas decided not to give in their notice. And relationships and the culture improved. It was a real step forward, and Julia felt there was no turning back.
Storytelling can be a powerful tool for addressing complex issues and fostering open conversations. Have you ever used storytelling in your organisation to address cultural or workplace challenges? If so, what was the impact, and how did you go about it? If not, do you see the potential for such an approach in your workplace?
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