The stories we don’t tell at work

The stories we don’t tell at work

In an era where trust is fragile and the future is uncertain, maybe the most powerful thing a leader can do isn’t to tell a better story, but to build a world where more stories can be heard
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Disney is widely regarded as one of the world’s most powerful storytellers. From Snow White to Frozen, it has built a century-long empire on happily-ever-afters. But what if Disney’s real story is something else entirely?

In a landmark 1995 study, management scholar David Boje argued that Disney wasn’t just telling stories; it was performing organisational control through storytelling. Beneath the polished tales of magical kingdoms, Boje uncovered a messier, more contested world of antenarratives: raw, half-formed, often suppressed stories that reveal what’s really going on behind the scenes. If storytelling is what organisations say, antenarratives are what people whisper, grumble, question, or dream, before the official version gets written. Boje uses the metaphor of Tamara, a play where scenes unfold in different rooms at once, and no audience member can see everything. In organisations like Disney, the same holds true: different departments, roles, and voices experience entirely different “realities.” There isn’t one Disney story—there are dozens, maybe hundreds. Some are promoted. Others are silenced.

Boje’s deep dive into Disney’s archives, spanning from the 1920s to the 1990s, revealed a corporation that constantly constructed and revised its internal mythology. In the early years, Disney sold itself as a creative utopia. But behind the scenes were labour disputes, time-clock regulations, and strict hierarchies. As Disney scaled, it kept calling its workers “family” while suppressing dissent and firing those who didn’t fall in line. The company’s official story was about harmony and magic. The antenarratives told of control, inequality, and lost voices.

Why should we care?

Because Disney isn’t unique, every organisation, from startups to universities to governments, tells stories about itself. These stories might seem need and tidy from the outside, but if we dig deeper, the untold stories shape culture, distribute power, and influence who belongs and who doesn’t.

Boje’s insight is that real organisational change doesn’t start with a new mission statement or slogan. It starts by listening to the antenarratives that don’t fit the script. They’re often where innovation, resistance, and renewal begin. Microsoft, the organisation I used to work for before founding Network Capital, changed its mission statement in 2014. Since then, the company’s valuation has grown tenfold under the leadership of Satya Nadella. In addition to getting its strategies and priorities right, it made sure to allow multiple narratives to coexist, compete, and thrive, contributing to the company’s evolving story.

So if you’re leading a company, ask: what are the stories you’re not telling?

And if you’re working within one, pay attention to the whispers in the hallway. They’re early signals. In an era where trust is fragile and the future is uncertain, maybe the most powerful thing a leader can do isn’t to tell a better story, but to build a world where more stories can be heard.

Because Disney isn’t unique, every organisation, from startups to universities to governments, tells stories about itself. These stories might seem need and tidy from the outside, but if we dig deeper, the untold stories shape culture, distribute power, and influence who belongs and who doesn’t.

Boje’s insight is that real organisational change doesn’t start with a new mission statement or slogan. It starts by listening to the antenarratives that don’t fit the script. They’re often where innovation, resistance, and renewal begin. Microsoft, the organisation I used to work for before founding Network Capital, changed its mission statement in 2014. Since then, the company’s valuation has grown tenfold under the leadership of Satya Nadella. In addition to getting its strategies and priorities right, it made sure to allow multiple narratives to coexist, compete, and thrive, contributing to the company’s evolving story.

So if you’re leading a company, ask: what are the stories you’re not telling?

And if you’re working within one, pay attention to the whispers in the hallway. They’re early signals. In an era where trust is fragile and the future is uncertain, maybe the most powerful thing a leader can do isn’t to tell a better story, but to build a world where more stories can be heard.

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