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| Path: Main Street > Resources/Library > Research Articles > Feature Article |
Stories create the connections necessary for social innovation
By Pattie LaCroix
March 17, 2008Much of my work over the past few years has centred on working with social innovators and connecting them to the power of their story. At the root of this perspective is a deep understanding that we exist in a complex system and, as such, relationships are key. In fact, it is the interplay or interdependencies of relationships that provoke change. Something new or transformed emerges. Emergence is really the unpredictable result of elements interacting that are out of our control.
This is best described in Westley, Zimmerman and Patton’s great book Getting to Maybe: How the World is Changed.
“Emergent systems thrive on interdependencies. Moreover, what may appear at a particular moment as a defeat can, from a systems perspective, attract needed energy to support unexpected realignments and new synergies…This is all part of the inherent uncertainty that characterizes complex dynamics.”The energy that arises from emergence is referred to the authors as “flow.”
The DNA so essential to providing people with points of entry into the emergent energy of change is a well-crafted narrative. People require a story that means something to them at a local, personal and even primal level in order to shift a perspective, create a new perspective and participate in the “flow” of change. What this really comes down to is that narrative creates an opportunity to locate parts of our own identity (our values, our hopes, our fears, our dreams and so on), and in doing so opens us up to the ability to emphasize. Without this deep personal connection, we are barred from participating in an emergent system of change.
It is relation to the “other” that we are able to participate, create and navigate the organic experience of social innovation. Stories provide that connection, that relationship to others; it is narrative that helps us recognize ourselves. Without this recognition our ability to empathize with someone else is stunted and so, too, is the opportunity to participate in relationships that interplay with one another in the complex world of social change.
If you are a communicator working to foster social innovation or progressive change, it is important to understand that narrative is a central player in creating a cascade of energy that feeds “flow”. So why is all of this so important to transformation? Because narrative helps us recognize ourselves and our connection to others; ultimately it frames the world for us and what we feel matters. Good stories wrap facts in emotions and emotions are at the heartbeat of all of our relationships.
So much attention goes into the medium and not the message when we work as communicators, activists or social entrepreneurs. While broadcast, mobile technologies, online social networking and print all play essential roles in disseminating the message and increasing the reach of a story, they are not the story itself. Much more energy should be assigned to the message, to the narrative of the story that helps us see ourselves, empathize with others, tap into the energy from our interdependencies, and participate in the possibility of social transformation.
Pattie LaCroix has provided strategic leadership in crafting integrated communications and fundraising strategies to nonprofits for more than a decade. As CEO of Catapult Media she is passionate about the power of storytelling in engaging your audience and building support for your work. You can reach Pattie at www.catapultmedia.ca.
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