Leaders Gain Trust By Telling Their Stories

In the article, “Good leaders tell stories that make people trust them with power,” by Dacher Kelter, the author argues that leaders can gain others trust by telling great stories about themselves. Kelter first gave the example of Abraham Lincoln’s ascendancy to power. He claimed that Lincoln and his great ability to tell stories enabled him to connect to others, and establish trust as their leader.

Overall, he argued that people rise in power through social practices that build strong ties and advance the interests of others, such as empathy and engaging with others. However, many times in history, once leaders do obtain their power, their attention shifts from the best interest of others to fulfilling their own desires. Many times, in other for these leaders to fulfill their own selfish desires, they must be cold-heart, lack empathy, and form conspiracy. Kelter claimed that leaders gain trust though story telling for a number of reasons.

First, it brings people joy and levity; second, it creates social networks, and third, offers helpful perspectives when dealing with conflict. Sadly, storytelling also can lead leaders to power even if their stories are intended to expose and humiliate others. For example, those who gossip have the power to manipulate the reputations of others by the power of their words. People become drawn to gossipers because this information is secret and exciting, so as a result, gossipers gain power through the ‘stories’ they tell, even if they may be false.

Kelter’s argument is valid in all facets. Leaders have the ability to gain power and trust through telling their stories. However, the author forgot to mention that leaders who tell their stories can enable them to be perceived as more ‘human’ to their subjects. The author did not use any specific evidence to support his claim except the example he gave about Abraham Lincoln and his great ability to tell stories. He used a study by Harvard University, which concluded that leaders could gain trust easily by telling their stories.

The author’s argument is a solution to many problems societies have today, which is a lack of trust in their leaders. Political corruption in the history of politics has betrayed many people’s trust. A proper way to gain the subject’s trust again would indeed be storytelling, in which politicians tell the public their background, their life hardships, and personal encounters. Only this can reinforce connections between leaders and subjects today, which is by humanizing leaders and understanding their intentions. The author’s purpose of writing this article was to inform others about how leaders can gain trust from others. The audience is the general public, or maybe even the ‘average citizen’.