The way leaders react in times of high stress is a good measure of their character. And it is in these times of strain everyone is taking note of what the leader is doing. The leader’s reaction creates new stories that make the organisation’s culture. You can’t underestimate how important these moments are.

Our story today is one of these moments. It happened in a law firm.

So why do the stories of our senior leaders’ actions get retold? It turns out that we are very mindful of the actions of anyone with power because powerful people can affect our lives. Power can come in many forms, there is hierarchy power, money power, expertise power, beauty power, celebrity power, and the power that comes from knowing powerful people. If you want to tell a story people will sit up and take notice then share one featuring a powerful person.

Most people think that stories are merely about events that have happened in the past. When people share stories of their leaders it is also an indicator of how they might respond in the future. If they have behaved well in the past it’s likely they will do so in the future. Each story retold becomes a data point that helps factor the organisation’s psychological safety.

And as Google discovered, psychological safety makes for the most productive teams.