An African Dilemma Tale to Stimulate Change

This is an example of allegorical storytelling in business using the model of an African Dilemma Tale – In the African dilemma tale storytelling tradition, the story is left open ended and so it is up to the listeners to suggest probable outcomes are and answer ‘what happens next, where do we go to from here?’ question. The dilemma tale poses a quandry, a cliffhanger, a paradox, a situation that must be navigated to find a way through because we hate being left with a question. Not so?

Oftentimes inhabitants of the dilemma tales are very different than those we find in “real life” but the problems are very similar.

The genius of the dilemma tale lies in its ability to engage an audience in a way no other form of storytelling can. It empowers new viewpoints and innovation where none would normally be possible.

The following story was developed for a government department operating in the health care sector in an African country. This story was used to trigger a change process and was told throughout the organisation.

“Once upon a time In a small, beautiful kingdom in Africa, a group of leaders saw that their people were facing terrible suffering. They wanted to help and between them had many skills, but they were faced with many obstacles – hands that should have been extending help were bound. Webs of confusion slowed them in their place of work. There was dissent between them and splinter groups formed. Much of their supporters were scattered. Some of the leaders had forgotten their Great Work. Worst of all, the fire around which they gathered to talk, had gone out. And even though there was help available from allies, they were so burdened and constrained that it was difficult to make use of the help offered to them.

Every time news came in from the mountain, they felt worse. The suffering was increasing. Parents were dying. Children were dying. Young people, who should have been strong and energetic looked lost and without hope for the future.

‘This can’t continue’, someone said and several others heard, repeating the phrase. Though tired and lacking motivation, the wisdom of their ancestors whispered in their dreams.

‘Build a fire,’ the whispers said. ‘Gather round and talk this thing through until you find solutions’.

Someone found a few twigs and put a match to them. Someone else came with more twigs and a few of the leaders started talking about their difficulties and found that all their problems were similar. Soon others arrived, bearing more firewood. As they talked and the flames leaped up, more arrived, until a great fire could be seen from afar. The leaders talked and talked until they all understood what the difficulties were and then began to plan how each would be overcome. Their supporters drew closer to the fire, heard the discussion and were glad, so glad, that some started to dance and sing. The people of the kingdom could see the fire and hear the singing from afar and their spirits rose. Something was happening at last….. TO BE CONTINUED….

Once the story has been told, we ask the question “so what happens now?”providing a safe space for people to discuss the story and explore possible future scenarios. The approach is inclusive and allows everyone to have their say about where the story goes from here underlining the fact that we ALL live in a number of dilemma tales. What happens next is up to us.

The dilemma tale isn’t just an ancient form of African storytelling; it presents a unique and memorable approach to stimulate co-operation, change, cultural innovation, reflection, out-of-box thinking, and strategic planning in modern organisations too.

The value of Africa’s perspectives on adaptation and change can also be seen in its traditional tales of conflict. In Africa, more than in any other continent, you will find open-ended narratives, whose only resolution exists in the group discussion that follows. “More dilemma tales (narratives which present a problem but no resolution except that provided by group discussion) are found in Africa than in any other part of the world.” (William R. Bascom, AFRICAN DILEMMA TALES; 1975)

If you liked this African Dilemma Tale, you’ll want to see this one: the story of Umbogo https://storytelling.co.za/an-african-dilemma-tale-the-story-of-umbogo/

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