Stories for the “Road Scholars, Freeway Fliers, Easy A’s and Gypsy

Geeks”: Connecting the Adjunct Community

Dr. Regina L. Schinker

Memorable Messages Verbal messages which may be

remembered for extremely long periods of time and which people perceive as a major influence on the course of their lives (Knapp, Stohl, & Reardon, 1981)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Memorable Messages Organizational Storytelling! in Customer Service

Schinker, Ellis, & Ford, 20??

So what is storytelling? What is your definition?

“…socially constructed accounts of past sequences of events that are of important to organizational members” (Feldman, 1990, p. 812)

Characteristics of a story (Brown, 1990):

Ring True/Are Accurate Have Relevance/Are Pertinent Have a Sequence of Events Sense of Temporality

Ring True/Are Accurate (Brown, 1990):

Hansen & Kahnweiler (1999)› Window to organizational life› Focus on norms› Natural way to discuss past events, problems,

and people Sax (2006)

› Different people = Different meanings Seglin, 2000; Swap, 2001; Love, 2008;

Carr, 2011; Volker, 2011› Be wary of artificial stories!

Have Relevance/Are Pertinent (Brown, 1990):

Hansen & Khanweiler (1999)› Open lines of communication

Ready (2002)› Not speeches but catalysts for discussion

Sax (2006)› What is important?

Sequence of Events (Brown, 1990):

Dennehy’s (1999) 5 Steps:› Establish the setting› Build the plot› Resolve the crisis› Describe the lessons learned› Explain how the characters were changed

Just last week…This week I had the pleasure to work with my colleagues on a project. My past

experiences with teams has always been bad, so I must admit this was one of the best school related group projects I was involved in (Thank you Earthwise Consulting).

My group members quickly responded with their recommendations on the Bucknell project, and were in agreement with choosing a leader.

Victor and I had some fun with the name of our group, and I was reprehensive in making silly jokes (as I normally do), since it’s often hard to convey emotions in an online course.

I further learned, that it’s somewhat hard to be personable when working on a project online. My wonderful team members were on tasks, but its hard for me to fully collaborate our efforts simply because we didn’t meet in person and perhaps were not fully understanding of each other’s view’s

I really didn’t know if I offended Victor, when I unintentionally shortened his name to Vick for in one of our group discussions. He quickly told me that he dislikes being called Vick, and as I apologized, I couldn’t help but think of how slow it was for me to get to know my group members in this online course.

I certainly think we would have had a more interesting conversation, Victor and I, about names.

For instance, I would have told him about my longtime friend, Vick (not to mention my favorite NFL player’s last name); but of course I felt that conversation would have taken away from our focus from the task (very transactional if you will).

Instead, I apologized and hoped I didn’t offend him (sorry again Victor).

Sense of Temporality (Brown, 1990):

Hansen & Kahnweiler (1999); Pentland (1999); McLellan (2006)

Three Major Functions of a Story in an Organization (Brown, 1990):

Reduce Uncertainty Manage Meaning Bonding Through Shared Identity

Reduce Uncertainty (Brown, 1990):

“Stories are like ruts in the road that people follow and thereby recreate. For this reason narrative can be a particularly valuable source of insight about organizations” (Pentland, 1999, p. 712).

“Stories are a safe way for newcomers to be ‘shown the ropes,’ without getting thrown the ropes” (Pentland, 1999, p. 717).

Reduce Uncertainty, cont. (Brown, 1990):

By easing change (Sax, 2006)› “Just tell ‘em” (Adamson, 2006)

Assumptions… Employees don’t need have a need for background

information Employees totally accept decisions by leadership Employees don’t have valid ideas of their own It’s just an information issue No fluff/entertainment is needed

By lessons learned (Harris & Barnes, 2006) By breeding trust (Harris & Barnes, 2006)

Manages Meaning (Brown, 1990).

ALL RESEARCHERS AGREE

Bonding Through Shared Identity (Brown, 1990):

This is “us” and we’ve lived it! (Sax, 2006; Love, 2008; Thorpe, 2011)

Brown’s Take-Away:

“…understanding an organization’s stories may be critical to understanding the organization itself” (Brown, 1990, p. 185).

Criteria for Story Effectiveness (Harris & Barnes, 2006):

Disclose something about you listeners didn’t know Have a clear and compelling message Avoid being boastful Avoid sarcasm or implied negativity about listeners or

someone known to them Avoid “preaching” Include an element in which others can identify Be relevant to a current issue Communicate empathy or understanding Open door to new ideas or solutions Start a conversation Include playful or self-deprecating humor

Themes to Incite Stories (Harris & Barnes, 2006):

Mistakes and failures Unexpected opportunities Risk and reward Choices and consequences Lessons learned Obstacles and challenges Advice from a mentor Someone who inspired me

What is your story…

Situations for Storytelling (Harris & Barnes, 2006):

Mentoring opportunities Introducing self to a new team Orienting new employees Starting a meeting about a new/different issue Illustrating a concept Reenergizing a team that has failed Coaching Leadership development Getting a key point across to a team that needs to hear it Beginning a conversation about a common problem Moving organizational culture towards greater openness

and a focus on learning

Other Applications for Storytelling…

Adult Learning Digital Storytelling

Storytelling and Adult Learning

“Storytelling can clearly be viewed as the foundation of the teaching profession” (Abrahamson, 1998, p. 449).

Deep engagement with context (Clark, 2006)

Reinforces oral and listening skills (Bishop, 2006)› Facts easier to recall

Ways to Involve Students in Stories (Bishop, 2006):

Discuss alternative endings Discuss peripheral factors that may

have influenced the characters Have others retell the story after

hearing it Retell the story from another point of

view

Digital Storytelling (Rule, 2010)

“Digital Storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling”

Weaves…› Images› Music› Narrative› Voice

Transformational

DIGITAL Storytelling

Swarthmore

Adjunct Instructors The benefits (Dedman & Pearch, 2004)

› Filling positions› Expertise› Student recruitment› Financial relief

The concerns› Teaching method/class prep› Relationship with students and colleagues› Grading practices

Assimilate, orientate, and mentor

DU 2011 Adjunct Headcount

Location Total

Lettinga 210

Online 350

Campuses 351

991

Let’s Explore the Use of Storytelling with DU Adjuncts…