Harnessing the Power of Aesthetic Storytelling: Innovative Narrative Structures for Organizational Change in the Age of Digital Work

Successful organizational change in today’s fast-paced digital workplace demands a deep understanding of evolving human dynamics and ideologies, amid conditions that amplify change recipients’ natural fear of change and proximity-seeking behavior. Recognizing this challenge, we propose a solution that empowers change leaders’ roles as comfort figures while fostering a clearer vision of the unpredictable future. Through a five-at screenwriting framework by John Yorke (Into the woods: A five-act journey into story. Abrams, 2014), we delve into a transformative journey, emphasizing the emotional challenges faced by change leaders, recipients, and resistance leaders. This framework introduces aesthetic storytelling to organizational change, focusing on how the story is being told rather than its traditional structure. Aesthetic storytelling, exemplified by cinematography, utilizes symbolism and metaphors to evoke emotional responses, aiding change recipients’ comprehension of the future narrative. Through the lens of a senior marketing strategist navigating digital transformation, we construct an organizational change metanarrative, portraying transformational elements grounded in practitioner experiences. Integrating aesthetic storytelling with change narratives can help change leaders overcome cognitive barriers, inspire positive emotional engagement from change recipients, and foster a future where change is embraced with purpose and optimism, contributing to how social science models future behavior based on previously implemented ideas.