Storytelling has become a central part of modern leadership. Leaders are looked to for compelling visions of the future, and to give people something meaningful to believe in.
This is a shift from more traditional models of leadership, where direction is given and expected to be followed. A compelling story can create energy, shift perspective, and help people see what might be possible.
But if you want people to help create a future that doesn't exist yet, they need to see themselves as part of making it happen. That means giving them enough space to question the vision, shape it, and bring their own thinking and ambition to it.
How storytelling opens doors
A compelling story gives people a reason to look up from the day-to-day and connect with something meaningful about the future they’re helping to build.
This matters because people rarely commit deeply to someone else’s goals. They may understand them or even be enthusiastic about them, but there’s a difference between being inspired by a future and feeling personally connected to creating it. That’s even more true when the goal is ambitious or uncertain.
Why inspiration alone has limits
Inspiration can create momentum and encourage people to think beyond what currently seems possible. But there is a natural limit to a vision that remains primarily a leadership narrative. This is where enrolment becomes important.
Enrolment happens when people begin to take on a goal as something they have a stake in creating. They start seeing beyond their immediate role, asking different questions, and taking responsibility for helping the wider outcome succeed.
For example, someone spots an opportunity that sits between two functions and takes the initiative to connect them. Or even just a team raising a problem before being asked to solve it. People begin thinking about what the organisation needs rather than only what their own role requires.
Ownership needs room to develop
Leaders often feel pressure to have the strategy worked out before they bring people into the conversation. However, this isn’t always the best approach, as by that point, much of the opportunity for genuine involvement and ownership has passed.
Instead, share the ambition before every detail has been resolved. Explain what you know, what you don't know, and where the biggest questions remain. Then, people can test the thinking against their own experience, or surface concerns that maybe haven’t been considered. Some of those contributions will change the original idea, but that's part of the point.
Start with alignment
Enrolment requires an honest conversation about whether people actually want the future being proposed. This can be uncomfortable, particularly as some leaders may assume that a sufficiently compelling vis
ion will bring everyone with them. In reality, people have different priorities, ambitions, concerns, and perceptions of what’s possible.
The earlier those differences are surfaced, the more useful they become.
Not everyone will become fully enrolled, but that’s fine. Genuine commitment is more valuable than the appearance of alignment. Leaders need to know where commitment exists, where it needs to be developed, and where there may be a fundamental mismatch.
From responsibility for a role to responsibility for an outcome
Of course, enrolment doesn't mean removing roles or accountability. People still need clarity about what they’re responsible for. The difference is in how broadly people see that responsibility.
In highly enrolled teams, people remain connected to the collective outcome even when something sits outside their formal remit. They notice problems that affect others and look for opportunities to move the whole system forward. This creates an important combination of clear accountability alongside a wider sense of ownership.
It’s particularly valuable when organisations are pursuing breakthrough goals, because breakthroughs rarely arrive through everyone simply executing their individual job description perfectly. It requires people to notice connections, respond to emerging opportunities, and take initiative when the path ahead isn't fully defined.
Make the story something people can own
Storytelling remains an important leadership capability, but the next step is creating the conditions for people to participate in shaping what comes next. That means sharing the thinking early, inviting challenge, surfacing differences in commitment, and giving people genuine influence over how the future takes shape.
The strongest visions eventually become collective commitments. People can see where the organisation is going, understand why it matters, and recognise their own contribution to making it real.
If you want to create greater enrolment around an ambitious future and give your people a genuine stake in making it happen, get in touch.