Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22

leader’s job is to illuminate the path

ahead. It’s vital to keep employees en-

gaged and aligned with end goals on

every project you undertake. And that

challenge might be made easier–illuminated for

you–by presentations specialist Nancy Duarte, who

developed former U.S. vice-president Al Gore’s

powerful climate change slide show, and colleague

Patti Sanchez in their new book,

Illuminate

If you want to initiate change, your role is to be a

torchbearer. That doesn’t involve just anticipating

the future but shaping it. And, as we know, ventur-

ing into the future can be scary… for us, and those

we lead.

“The desire to build something significant sim-

mers inside torchbearers; how you communicate

determines whether or not you achieve that goal.

Leading people requires not only sensing change

afoot, but imagining a brighter future and commu-

nicating it in a way that motivates others to follow

you there,” she says.

There’s no map. Usually uncertainty grips the

effort. It often feels like you’re at the bottom of a

ravine and hoping to scale a mountain in the dis-

tance. You need to persuade people to sign on for

the trek and keep them motivated along the way.

The book offers a generic map. It’s the five stages

that every venture contains:

• Dream:

The travellers face a choice of staying

put or accepting they can play an important role

in making your new dream come true.

• Leap:

They have to accept that things won’t be

the same and count the cost of the sacrifice before

committing to the leap.

• Fight:

Roadblocks inevitably arise that will test

the torchbearer’s mettle. The travellers must

boost their commitment and fight the opposition.

• Climb:

The effort is focused on getting out of the

pit they have fallen into. And it may not be a one-

time thing. There may be a series of fighting and

climbing intervals as obstacles continue.

• Arrive:

With a last push the travellers make it to

the destination and seize the rewards you have

promised. They are celebrated for their efforts

and buoyed by what was accomplished.

Essentially, those five stages reflect the typical

structure of a story. In the beginning–Dream and

Leap–a relatable and likeable hero jumps into an

adventure. In the middle–Fight and Climb–the

hero encounters seemingly insurmountable road-

blocks that test resolve. And in the end–Arrive–the

hero attains the object of desire and the journey

transforms him or her. It’s The End, except usually

there will be another dream and another saga.

It’s the classic story structure, but divided to fit

what we experience in our workplace. And the au-

thors advise us that at each juncture, torchbearers

must listen carefully and empathetically to under-

stand what co-travellers are feeling. “Listen empa-

thetically to light the path,” they declare. And then

consider, based on what you heard, two general

approaches:

• Motivating communication to keep them go-

ing:

When your co-travellers are energized and

feeling adventurous about pursuing your dream,

you want to keep them uplifted with extra en-

couragement to stay engaged.

• Warning communication if they get stuck:

You need to advise them about the possible nega-

tive outcomes of staying put or straying from the

course, trying to push them away from the resis-

tance that is forming.

The torchbearer’s toolkit has four elements: You

can deliver speeches, tell stories, hold ceremo-

nies, and use symbols. Each tool can be deployed

in any of the five stages. And you might use it to

motivate or to warn. That may seem overwhelm-

ing but in fact the authors are illuminating the

path with a richness and clarity that we had not

seen before. At each stage, we can evaluate, af-

ter empathetically listening, which tool to use –

a motivating speech here, a warning ceremony

there, or whatever seems most appropriate. And

they offer us a pull-out sheet in the book with all

the choices explained. Here are some examples:

• Heed the Call story:

Explain your epiphany in

the dream stage with an anecdote to motivate oth-

ers to join in, telling them how things could be

different and the revelation transformed you. The

opposite, a Neglect the Call story, serves as a warn-

ing, recounting a failure to see an opportunity or

how you disregarded a threatening situation.

The Leader’s Bookshelf

Harvey Schachter

Illuminate

By Nancy Duarte

and Patti Sanchez

Portfolio, 323

pages, $41.00

/ Canadian Government Executive

// May 2016