The Power of Narratives in Goal Setting

Employees are becoming increasingly detached from their employers, with workforces reporting less role clarity, lower satisfaction with their organization, and less connection to their companies’ mission or purpose. 

The NCT (Narratives, Commitments, Tasks) Goal Framework provides the opportunity, through its Narrative, to incorporate a fundamental ‘why’ into its goal-setting strategy. 

In understanding and utilizing the power of storytelling to craft a well-written Narrative, leaders can offer their teams and members a ‘why’ that resonates and drives engagement. 

Narratives can drive engagement by creating an emotional connection to work, fostering a sense of shared identity, and inspiring and energizing teams to commit to goals. 

In addition, they also have the power to enhance clarity by providing a guiding vision, a framework for decision-making, and breaking down complexity.

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Introduction

An organization's success depends on setting the right goals and tracking and executing them accordingly. A crucial part that often goes unmentioned in this process is the level of engagement teams have toward these goals beyond mere execution.

The quality of input will depend on how motivated and engaged teams and individuals are when engaging with objectives and overall strategy. The output may result in ‘ticked boxes,’ but what about quality?

Engagement refers to the commitment and enthusiasm of teams and individual team members toward their work. Engaged employees align their success with an organization's success and, in a high-engagement scenario, go the extra mile to help achieve business objectives.

Measuring and managing engagement within your organization is essential to the success of both teams and the organization as a whole. Statistics support that engaged employees experience greater well-being, better retention, lower absenteeism, and demonstrate higher productivity.

Recent statistics, however, reveal a global decline in employee engagement, with U.S. engagement hitting an 11-year low in early 2024, where only 30% of employees were highly engaged. In contrast, European engagement figures across 2023 show an even more troubling landscape: only 13% of employees were engaged, 72% were not engaged, and 16% were actively disengaged across industries. 

Employees reported becoming increasingly detached from their employers, with workforces reporting less role clarity, lower satisfaction with their organization, and less connection to their companies’ mission or purpose. 

Not all is doom and gloom, however. Every problem provides an opportunity for a specific solution. These trends indicate a desire for increased engagement on the part of employees, and this is something that leaders have a responsibility to deliver. 

One effective way to tackle this issue is by clearly communicating a strong and compelling vision that outlines the organization's purpose, core values, objectives, and the culture necessary to support this aspiration for engagement and mutual growth alongside the organization. 

To help you with this, this article will explore the question ‘Why?’ as a fundamental driver of inspiration and alignment. We'll cover the following topics:

• Start with Why
• NCT Framework
• What is NCT?
• The Narrative
• The Role of the Narrative in NCT
• The Power of Storytelling
• The Power of the Narrative in NCT
• How Narratives Drive Engagement
  • NCT Narratives Motivate
  • NCT Narratives Enhance Clarity
• Conclusion

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Start with Why

The question ‘Why’ can be a powerful tool to foster inspiration and alignment. ‘Why’ transcends ‘what’ an individual or an organization does and ‘how’ they do it.

This inspirational keynote by Simon Kinek - author of Start With Why- How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action - inspires thought behind the question ‘Why’ and its purpose in aligning your beliefs with those of both consumers and employees. 

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Some key takeaways from this keynote, with particular relevance to the focus of this article, are; 

• Why = What is your purpose and your core belief? Why does your organization exist? 
• The goal is not to hire people who merely want a job but to hire people who believe what you believe. 
• If you don't know why you do what you do, how can you expect people to respond to why you do what you do and, more importantly, commit loyalty and want to be a part of what you do?
• If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money, but if you hire people who share your vision, they’ll work with increased dedication. 
• People care about themselves. They do not buy into ‘what’ you do; they buy into ‘why’ you do it. 
• People follow those who lead not because they have to but because they want to; they follow not for the leaders but for themselves, and it is leaders who start with why that inspire.  

These takeaways articulate the strategic importance of the ‘why’ of an organization's vision and mission, how that influences employee acquisition and engagement, and its translation into the ‘why’ of the objectives employees will actively set out to achieve.  

This may sound logical, but the challenge comes with effectively implementing this into your organization's strategy and culture. So, let's start by looking at a modern goal-setting framework called NCT.

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NCT Framework 

What is NCT? 

NCT stands for Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks and incorporates the fundamental question of ‘Why’ into its goal-setting strategy. The Narrative provides leaders with the opportunity to tell a story that will become the ‘why’ catalyst for the objectives. This lays the foundation for alignment between the organization's overarching vision and individual contributions to drive engagement toward that vision.  

Keeping the ‘Why’ in mind, let's look into the NCT Framework's components. 

The Narrative

The Narrative should be a 1-3 sentence qualitative description of a team's goal and, importantly, ‘why’ achieving it matters. 

The purpose of the Narrative is to serve as a beacon that guides the team's actionable work back to the company's product and long-term strategy.

Example: “Over the past quarter, we have experienced multiple system outages that have impacted customer satisfaction and trust. To ensure our platform provides a reliable service, we need to improve system stability and reduce downtime. This will help us retain customers and enhance our reputation for reliability.”

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For an in-depth look at the elements of the NCT Framework and how they work, please take a look at our article on the benefits of using NCTs in goal setting. 

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For the purpose of this article, we’ll hone our focus on the role of the Narrative. 

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The Role of the Narrative in NCT 

The Narrative in NCT utilizes the power of storytelling to provide a qualitative description. It should convey ‘Why’ a strategic initiative has been decided upon. Teams should be able to align their understanding of the narrative and its place within an organization's overarching vision and mission. 

Narratives, in other words, are small chapters of the larger story that is an organization's lifecycle, and leaders, teams, and individuals should see themselves as the main characters that drive this story forward, embracing a shared identity. 

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The Power of Storytelling  

So why is storytelling an important tool when crafting a narrative? Let's look at the power of storytelling through the lens of science so that leaders can better understand its value. 

Stories, throughout our entire history as a species, have served as the tool for passing down knowledge, stimulating critical thinking and problem-solving, fostering our emotional connection and empathy, embedding a sense of identity and community in us, and providing entertainment and engagement. 

Statistics and data, while informative, are not inherently engaging. Numbers, bullet points, and presentations lack the ability to truly captivate an audience.

When we encounter information in this format, the language centers in our brain—Broca's area and Wernicke's area—automatically work to translate it into a narrative that makes sense to us. However, the challenge is that the meaning we derive from this process may differ from the message the speaker intends to communicate.

Scientists are discovering that when we are told a story, chemicals like cortisol, dopamine, and oxytocin are released into the brain, which assists in formulating memories, regulating emotional responses, facilitating engagement, and creating deeper connections. 

A citation from Princeton neuroscientist Uri Hasson states that “a story is the only way to activate parts in the brain so that a listener turns the story into their own idea and experience.

It's reasonable to conclude that storytelling remains one of our most powerful tools for influencing and driving engagement. It should, therefore, be implemented into any well-crafted organizational strategy. Any leader wishing to drive team engagement should take inspiration from the value of such insights. 

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The Power of the Narrative in NCT  

In contrast to other goal-setting frameworks, the Narrative in NCTs provides leaders with the tangible opportunity to use storytelling to align engagement as the foundation for an objective. 

When structured well, it should provide the strategic context and guardrails to allow individuals to align their decision-making with the overarching vision and mission. This can be achieved by detailing why an initiative is a priority, incorporating any recent learnings that are relevant, including past efforts or problems with similar initiatives where relevant, and highlighting how the initiative fits into the broader product vision. 

After reading a Narrative, teams and individuals should understand ‘Why’ these objectives have been set, ‘Why’ they are important to achieve, and ‘Why’ their engagement is crucial to shared success. 

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Now that we have an understanding of the power of storytelling and its place in crafting a powerful Narrative, we can examine how Narratives have the power to drive engagement.

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How NCT Narratives Drive Engagement

Leaders can use storytelling to craft Narratives in an NCT framework and offer teams and individuals a ‘why’ to improve engagement. Let's look at how this can impact your teams in more detail. 

NCT Narratives Motivate 

Create an emotional connection to work: The Narrative offers leaders the opportunity to tell a story that teams can engage with emotionally. It transcends mere objectives or performance metrics by addressing the ‘Why’ behind goals. This can create a personal connection for team members, allowing them to understand that their work is purposeful and impactful. When people understand how their efforts contribute to a larger story, they become more invested in the outcome. 

Foster a sense of belonging and shared identity: Narratives often weave together individual roles into a collective purpose. This fosters a sense of belonging, where team members see themselves as part of something bigger. A shared Narrative helps create a unified identity, motivating the team to contribute toward the same goal with enthusiasm and commitment.

Inspire and energize: A strong Narrative can be inherently inspiring. It offers a vision that team members can rally around. Whether it's a challenge to overcome or a vision of the future, the story should energize the team, pushing them to go the extra mile because they believe in the ‘Why’.

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NCT Narratives Enhance Clarity 

Provide a guiding vision: A Narrative articulates a clear, overarching vision that helps team members understand where they are headed and why. It serves as a North Star, offering direction amid complex and evolving work environments. This clarity reduces confusion about priorities and goals, helping team members align their efforts with the overarching purpose.

Provide a framework for decision-making: By grounding the team in a broader story, the Narrative can become a reference point for decision-making. It helps to clarify what is important, which tasks align with the vision, and which do not. This allows the team to remain focused, avoid distractions, and prioritize efforts contributing to the overall goal.

Break down complexity:  In complex projects, it's easy for teams to get lost in the details. Narratives simplify complexity by focusing attention on the essential message. By offering a clear and compelling story, the team can better understand how individual tasks fit into the broader context, reducing uncertainty and truly fostering alignment.

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Conclusion 

Through the Narrative of the NCT framework, leaders have the opportunity and ability to utilize the power of storytelling and offer their teams a ‘Why.’ 

Leaders should understand the value and potential inherent in crafting a well-written Narrative. When effectively executed, they can inspire, motivate, and enhance clarity.  

This can foster alignment between the organization's vision, teams, and individual members to drive engagement.