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CHANGE THE STATUS QUO

THROUGH YOUR NARRATIVE

INTELLIGENCE

WRITTEN BY CHRISTINA BLACKEN

FOUNDER OF THE NEWQUO.COM

THE CASE FOR INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP, AND ACHIEVING STATUS QUO BREAKING GOALS

THROUGH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL POWER OF STORY

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We are facing a lot of uncertainty and anxiety in the

coming months. We need new, unconventional leaders

and their ideas to be at the forefront of this massive

societal change, and they need to tap into their narrative

intelligence to bring critical visibility and buy-in for their

ideas to change the world for the better.

I’m not interested in maintaining the status quo. What

results has our current social, political, and economic

systems brought humanity? How did we get to where we

are right now? Why would we get back into a vehicle we

know has four flat tires and is careening off a cliff? I come

from a long line of women courageous enough to leave

behind what they know, to rewrite their stories and fates

in an unknown place. They were leaders. And we all can

be transformative, inclusive, innovative leaders on the

other side of a status quo shifting story. Let’s dive in.

I’ve spent a decade in my professional career using

storytelling to drive behavior change -- from closing 6.5M

in sales for household brands to motivating 300K teens

to get involved in social causes, all through the power of

storytelling. I have witnessed how powerful narratives

are not only for selling ideas but for shaping every action

and individual behavior we take, the cultures that we live

and work in, and for solving the root cause of inequalities

we see in the world.

The frameworks developed in this paper are built on my

in field client work, scholarly research studies on

narrative and psychology, and theories on collective

leadership, relational leadership, and transformational

leadership.

This paper is proposing a new approach to leadership

and change through the power of narrative

intelligence.

Humans use narrative to make sense of the world, attach

meaning to our experiences, and to pass on knowledge.

Every action you take and goal you hold is affected by

your narrative intelligence, which is the ability to

recognize how stories impact and influence values, bias,

personal and cultural beliefs, and behaviors. Narrative

intelligence is the ability to leverage the psychological

power of story to change behavior and inspire action.

Fear-driven narratives around money, success, identity,

and leadership led us to where we are right now as a

society, and we have the power to reverse these issues

with improved narrative intelligence.

Traditional leadership practices across every industry --

from government and entertainment to education and

consumer goods -- feel like crusty, worn out, ill fitting

clothes we’ve outgrown. These practices are built on

scarcity, fear, bias, and hoarding capital, forging the

rocky path to where we are right now as a global society:

an overtaxed ecosystem and climate, a severe imbalance

in resource distribution, racism and other systems of

bias limiting wellbeing and livelihood, billions of people

going without their basic needs of food, water, shelter

and security being met -- creating the perfect conditions

for global pandemics.

We're at the beginning of a major inflection point. Our

systems have been inherently broken from the

beginning, but the silver-lining of seeing the flaws in our

systems is we have the power and opportunity to build

something exciting and new.

WHATISTHISABOUT?TL:DR

LEADERS WITHHIGHLEVELSOFNARRATIVE INTELLIGENCE:

The New Quo

01/10

Better manage uncertainty by uncovering empowering narratives around change and

transition

Increase their influence and persuasion by creating emotionally impactful narratives to

communicate their new ideas

Are confident and improve performance by reframing limiting internal narratives they

believe about their own capabilities

Lead others to their fullest potential by creating motivating goals and a shared

narrative that gives a sense of purpose

Increase innovation by unpacking biased internal narratives and responding to change

and difference with curiosity instead of fear

Create genuine cultures of inclusion and connection across diverse backgrounds

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THE POWER OF A STORY

03

CURRENT LEADERSHIP

PROBLEM: FEAR-BASED

NARRATIVES

05

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO

IMPROVE YOUR

NARRATIVE INTELLIGENCE

TODAY

08

WHAT IS NARRATIVE

INTELLIGENCE?

04

CREATING CHANGE

THROUGH THE STATUS

QUO SHIFTING METHOD

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