Today’s ponderable: What can we learn about leading with stories from the 2025 DWG Awards entries?
Judging this year’s DWG Awards left me inspired and even a little awestruck. This was not just because of the technology or the transformation journeys involved, but more due to the stories behind them. As I reviewed entry after entry, I realized something: The most compelling submissions weren’t just well-executed projects; their stories were crafted with intention, emotion and clarity.
So today’s post is a love letter to storytelling leaders who balanced the art and science of narrative in crafting their 2025 DWG award entries. Here’s what I learned from the best of the best:
The art of storytelling: Emotion, identity and voice
1. Start with the ‘why that matters’
The strongest entries didn’t just say what they built – they told us why it mattered. One platform, for example, was designed through co-creation with employees to solve real pain points. The story opened with empathy and closed with measurable impact.
2. Make it personal
Another standout wasn’t a top-down initiative – it was a grassroots movement. The submission read like a community story, not a corporate one. It had names, faces and moments of shared discovery that made it feel alive.
3. Use visuals as story anchors
One team used carousel imagery, vertical videos and ‘walkaround’ explainers to show the story rather than tell it. Their storytelling was immersive, not just informative.
The science of storytelling: Structure, evidence and clarity
1. Anchor in outcomes
One platform told a decades-long story of transformation – but it didn’t get lost in the timeline. It used metrics like adoption rates and search volumes to ground the story in results.
2. Align to themes
The best entries mapped their stories to strategic pillars such as employee experience, AI, transformation, culture and impact. This made it easy for judges (and stakeholders) to follow the arc.
3. Keep it human, even when it’s technical
Even the most complex AI integrations were explained through the lens of user benefit: ‘What does this help our people do better, faster or more meaningfully?’.
My takeaways from this year’s class of storytelling leaders
Lead with a moment: Start your next strategy deck or town hall with a real employee story. One moment of friction or delight can anchor the entire message.
Build a story spine: Use a simple structure (challenge, insight, action, outcome) to frame your initiatives.
Design for emotion and logic: Pair data with quotes, visuals with metrics. Let the heart and the head work together.
Make your people the heroes: Whether it’s a frontline worker or a digital champion, elevate the voices of those who lived the change.
Close with a call to belief: Not just what you did, but what you now believe about the future of work – and why others should too.
As I closed the judging folder, I found myself thinking: This is what leadership looks like. Not just in the tools we deploy, but in the stories we choose to tell and how we tell them.
See these storytelling leaders in action
Has this diary entry left you wanting to hear more?
We are planning a rolling programme of events for DWG members featuring a deep look at each of our winners’ stories as part of our continuing efforts to learn from each other, push boundaries and empower our people for the future. Visit the DWG extranet for updates on our upcoming events.
If you are not yet a member and would like to be able to attend events like these, find out more about DWG membership.
In the meantime, be sure to read up on our case studies about each winning organization.
Until next time, Nancy
Categorised in: → Diary of a She-E-O
