Since the 2016 Presidential elections, I’ve been reading more and more of the work of Marshall Ganz (and wish that I had an earlier introduction to his body of work!).
Ganz worked for United Farm Workers for sixteen years before becoming a trainer and organizer for political campaigns, unions, and nonprofits. He is largely credited for the success of the Obama grassroots campaign.
Why am I writing about him now?
Well, let me draw your attention to this article: Leading Change: Leadership, Organization, and Social-Movements and in particular, the section on telling stories. I try to help health care workers see themselves as agents of change. In trainings, I aim to include elements that work to build motivation and build a sense of unity between health care workers and their community.
Whenever I am working to develop a curriculum or health care worker training, I like to ask three simple questions:
- What should the participants know?
- What should the participants be able to do?
- How should the participants to feel about whatever they are doing/learning?
This is, of course, a re-visioning of the standard “know-do-understand” model of curriculum development. There are times when we need to ensure that healthcare workers are not perpetuating stereotypes or messaging treatment options in ways that may be alienating to patients. By helping to frame the story of health care, we can also help to ensure that patients receive the best possible care.
How do you incorporate storytelling into your work?