“This was a great session which helped to generate new ideas and concepts for the diversity network I chair.”
We all know about ‘the elevator pitch’. When we started working with State Street, our ultimate aim was to help colleagues feel able to share their stories with senior Leaders – not necessarily in a lift, but in an equally memorable and compelling way.
State Street has a commendable number of active employee-led networks created to support colleagues from different backgrounds: working parents, those with disabilities, LGBT colleagues, new starters and so on. We developed a series of exercises for Network Leads, delivered through a workshop, to uncover the stories in these networks. Why did people join? What did they get out of being part of a network? And why should Leaders pay attention to the influence of these networks?
The stories flowed. We worked with Network Leads to refine their stories for different audiences; to practice telling their stories in different scenarios; and to consider how to take the stories back into the business.
We’re passionate about storytelling here at 106 Communications, because we’ve seen how powerful stories can be in corporate environments to build pride internally and grow reputation externally. We hope our work with State Street will build on its reputation as a diverse employer dedicated to supporting the needs of colleagues from all backgrounds.
