Page 2 - August 2020- CommExpert Digest - LCO as a Storyteller

“The Leader as Storyteller,” Legal, LCO, and CommEx are
“Today's Leaders Need To Be built on stories, too. All of us now
“Storytelling is like a bottle Great Storytellers.” Be honest, know the founding story of
of ketchup - it makes how many of you on seeing CommEx: three years ago, a
everything taste better. No article titles like these have small group signed up for a
matter how good your thought, “But I’m a lawyer/ contracting community of
French fries or burger, they paralegal/ admin assistant, I practice, met Kate’s vision of a
are always complimented don’t tell stories, I tell facts”? better Legal commercial
and the flavor is enhanced The best leaders need to tell an organization, and CommEx was
with a little ketchup. As authentic, realistic and born. Compelling stories The most impactful stories are the
CommEx lawyers, we have believable story, filled with the influence the behaviors, great work stories: stories about
to do more than develop promise of a better day. Easy! thoughts and feelings (yes, individual and team achievement.
great advice. We have to Abbott is a company feelings!) of audiences.
find a way to communicate built on stories: the stories we Every contract tells a These stories serve to both
that advice so that it is tell ourselves and each other story: with a protagonist recognize the individuals behind
simple and easy to about the company’s origins (the (Abbott), an antagonist (the the work and to inspire those who
understand. Add a little “founding story”) and who we other party), the goal (mutual hear it. What stories are you
storytelling to help your are 132 years later; pivotal benefit), the hero’s journey (the
clients relate what you are stories about critical events in negotiations), the teamwork (the telling?
telling them to something our history (separation, Ts&Cs) and the resolution (the “Stories are not indicators,
relevant to their world and anyone?); and teamwork stories signatures). Every presentation they ARE the
just like the French fries, (the amazing collaboration of is the construction of a narrative organization.”
you have enhanced the our Diagnostics colleagues in - David M. Boje, Professor of
flavoring and made the response to COVID). We collect designed to elicit or respond to management at New Mexico
advice easier to understand emotion in the audience and State University
and apply.” the stories of those whose lives presents a clear and compelling
have been changed for the story of facts for a purpose.
- Dave Walters, Division better by our products, and we
Counsel, Medical Devices tell the world.
The Power of Storytelling Skills

There are excellent professionals in LCO, but how much do our business colleagues really know about what we do? If we want the business
to know what we do, why we do it and how our work has a direct impact that contributes to Abbott’s success, we must learn how to market
and talk about our work to the rest of the organization. An effective narrative surrounding our work will provide insight into the scope of our
day-to-day work and ”humanize” our legal work. We can achieve this by:

- Leveraging internal “PR” opportunities such as Employee Networks to share with them what our work is about
o Women Leaders of Abbott (WLA)
o Black Business Network (BBN)
o PRIDE (LGBTQ & Ally Network)
o LA Voice (Hispanic Latino Network)
o Asian Leadership and Cultural Network (ALCN)
o Veterans Network
o Women in Stem (W-STEM)
o Advancing Professional Network (APN)
o Flex Network
- Using tools like the 100,000 & 10,000 Foot Tools to identify impactful work and discuss lessons learned with our managers
- Sharing our CommEx mission and team structure with business stakeholders so that they are aware of LCO’s progress towards
our endeavors
- Presenting past and present examples of our role and impact to business stakeholders on a regular basis to ensure open dialogue
that promotes LCO as a true business partners
Ultimately, we are responsible for demonstrating our impact to the organization, and this requires us to communicate an effective narrative.
And the more we tell stories, the better storytellers we will become.
If you have any success stories demonstrating impact to our business partners using, please contact Harpreet Bansel or Aaron Shao!