MODERN LEADERSHIP
Get real: Why you should
ditch corporate jargon
for storytelling
By Gabrielle Dolan
T
he language of the corporate
world is jargon. Terms like
executional excellence,
optimisation and strategic direction
dehumanises how we communicate
and this way of talking is killing us.
It’s killing engagement, productivity
and loyalty.
Whilst terms such as ‘execution
excellence’ use less words than
‘doing it right’, we do not need
to take leadership lessons from
Twitter guidelines because every
time we use corporate jargon we
disconnect and isolate people.
The need to change
By 2020 Gen Y will be the most
dominant generation in the
workforce and this cohort have a
beautiful and healthy disrespect
for authority. They are prepared to
follow but that will not be based on
title or position, it will be based on
our ability to connect with them,
to engage them with purpose and
to inspire them. This cannot be
achieved with corporate jargon.
24 ModernBusiness
February 2016
Besides Gen Y demanding
leaders to be more authentic,
information overload continues at
an exponential rate. We have so
much information available to us
that people are not looking for more
data, they are looking for leaders
to create meaning for them and to
make it relevant.
Storytelling as an
option
Imagine if we could replace the
isolating and disengaging language
of corporate jargon and replace
it with a style that is inclusive
and engaging. Real storytelling
has emerged as an effective and
authentic way to achieve this and
many outstanding business leaders
have embraced this concept.
Storytelling in action
Cindy Batchelor, an Executive
General Manager at the NAB,
understands the power of
storytelling and has spent years
polishing this skill. Cindy shares
the following story with her team
to enforce the message of how
important it is to be positive and to
‘reframe’ any situation:
‘Two years ago I lost my husband in
a tragic paragliding accident. In our
time of dealing with this loss, my
youngest son Billy said to me that
his greatest fear was, ‘If it could
happen to Dad, it could happen to
you’. As a parent, this is a tough
one to respond to—there are no
guarantees in life.
Ten months later I was involved in
a car accident while driving home
from work. I had stopped at the
shop on the way home to pick up
some groceries and rang my eldest
son Jackson when I was about
five minutes away to get him to
meet me outside to help with the
groceries. Two minutes from home
I was hit and instantaneously six
airbags deployed and I pulled up
just before I ran into a power pole.
The only thing that was going
through my mind at the time was
the memory of Billy saying, ‘If
it could happen to Dad, it could