Telling the Story - by Geoff Mead (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Telling the Story is both practical (with tips, exercises and examples) and thought provoking. It argues for a re-enchantment of our disenchanted world and for the recognition of more human and humane values in our organizational lives.The art of narrative leadership is important for senior executives, middle managers and concerned citizens.Distilling the author's considerable experience as a public service leader, research academic, organizational consultant, performing storyteller and leadership coach on top management programmes, Telling the Story shows how leaders affect our understanding of what is possible and desirable through the stories they tell and the stories they live. It opens a door into the world of narrative leadership: what stories are and how they work; when to tell a story and how to tell one well; how the stories we tell (and the language and metaphors we use) influence our actions and shape the way we think about the world. The book also challenges us to consider the purposes behind our stories: what are we leading for? What are the big stories of our time and how can our own stories help to create the kind of future we want for ourselves and our children?"--

Book Synopsis

How to master the art of narrative leadership

Telling the Story shows how leaders affect our understanding of what is possible and desirable through the stories they tell. It opens a door into the world of narrative leadership: what stories are and how they work; when to tell a story and how to tell one well; and how the language and metaphors we use influence our actions and change how we think about the world.

- Explains how narrative leadership shapes and defines what's possible on an organizational level

- Written by a renowned consultant on the art of narrative leadership

- Challenges leaders to consider how narrative can influence and help create the kind of society they envision

From the Back Cover

Telling the Story opens a door into the world of narrative leadership, showing how leaders affect our understanding of what is possible and desirable through the stories they tell and embody.

This book will help executives, managers and concerned citizens to identify what stories are and how they work; when to tell a story and how to tell one well. It offers a challenge to consider the purposes behind our stories: what are we leading for? It will help practitioners identify their own authentic story and use this to lead convincingly.

Using tips, exercises and examples, Telling the Story will help leaders build on their own current practices using the vital art of narrative leadership.

This book is both practical and thought-provoking, to encourage leaders to consider the big stories of our time and how we can use our own stories to create and take responsibility for the kind of future we want.

"Geoff Mead is a master of both the theory and practice of narrative leadership. Telling the Story is refreshing in its frankness and insight. It left me feeling challenged, energized and inspired to think about the stories I want to live and tell through my own leadership. Wonderful reading for anyone who wants to enhance their positive impact on the world."
--Lindsay Levin, Founder and Managing Partner, Leaders' Quest

Review Quotes

"With Mead's experience running a narrative leadership consultancy, the book is an insightful contribution to the field of leadership." (Elite Business, May 2014)

"Mead's tips on how to speak clearly and honestly are as good as anything on the market, and this book is as rich and absorbing as the most compelling yarn." (People Management, June 2014)

"... it does a good job of explaining how the language and metaphors that we use through the telling of stories can influence our actions, and change how we and others think about the world." (Talk Business, June 2014)

"This book sets out a solid foundation for the role and position of story-telling and weaves it into a modern narrative around leadership explaining how the oft-over-looked human elements of organizational leadership can be sustained through the sense-making of stories." (Developing Leaders, August 2014)

"... an informative and interesting book for leaders and management consultants wanting to expand their horizons to include story and storytelling in their toolkits." (Facts & Fiction, August 2014)

About the Author

Geoff Mead is the founder of Narrative Leadership Associates, a consultancy focused on the use of storytelling for sustainable leadership (www.narrativeleadership.com). As an organizational consultant, keynote speaker and workshop leader, he has taken his work on narrative leadership into the boardrooms of blue chip companies, universities and government departments, for the past two decades.
After a successful police career, life took a different turn when he discovered the magic of stories and began to explore their power to liberate the human spirit. Now, he performs traditional stories and runs story-based workshops in the UK and as far afield as Spain, Canada and Japan. His first book Coming Home to Story: Storytelling Beyond Happily Ever After was published in 2011 by Vala (www.valapublishers.coop).
Pursuing various academic and research interests, he has been awarded an MBA, a postgraduate diploma in Gestalt psychology and a PhD in personal and leadership development, resulting in his appointment as a visiting research fellow at the University of Bath. He has also designed national public service leadership programmes and served on the faculty of the Prime Minister's Top Management Programme.
Geoff has four children, five grandchildren and an entirely unreasonable love of Morgan sports cars. He divides his time between his partner's house in the Cotswolds and Lyme Regis, where he lives and writes in sight of the sea.