Making Sense of Work Through Collaborative Storytelling

Front matter

Making Sense of Work Through Collaborative Storytelling

Tricia Cleland Silva Paulo de Tarso Fonseca Silva palgrave OPEN ACCESS | macmillan

Tricia Cleland Silva Paulo de Tarso Fonseca Silva

Preface

Working with stories is about being curious and interested. It is about engaging with people who have lived embodied experiences without making assumptions or providing advice. It is about holding space and actively listening to someone else making sense of their own identity and position through empathy not sympathy.

Empathy is different from sympathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, without taking responsibility for those feelings through advice or actions. Empathy is about sitting and being present to hear someone making sense of their experiences without judgement or expectation.

To tell one’s story authentically is truth telling. It is truth telling as it can give consent to the reality of what is within a particular time, place, and culture from the perspective of one’s experiences. When the storyteller is not fully listened to, there is a risk of giving shallow meaning to the story based on one’s own limitations. This risk can lead to destructive material consequences by restricting people to a story that they did not choose. This risk affects all of us, but it is more common for individuals who do not belong to the dominant social group.

Usually, when we explain lived experiences through stories, we draw from metaphors to give imagery to our present thinking, recollection of the past, and hopes for the future. Like getting better at a craft, storytelling allows us to discover patterns of what works and what could be reinvented in the stories and metaphors we tell to others with a meaningful purpose. Our stories are embodied, and we carry them with us no matter where we are, influencing each experience.

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Stories are powerful and can dictate how one behaves and sees oneself in their work role as well as in asserting one’s identity. The power of stories draws attention to the reality that we do not check our embodied stories at the door when we enter the workplace. We are our stories, but often, the stories that we embody remain uninvited or under acknowledged at the workplace.

Ignoring stories does not make them go away but rather creates obstacles to collaboration and engagement with each other and the work itself.

Acknowledging stories means acknowledging emotions. Emotions are evoked during organisational change, so it is fair to say that stories and metaphors are also evoked whether we are conscious of them or not. When stories are restricted at work, especially during times of uncertainty, fear festers and suppresses creativity, trust, and the motivation to collaborate for the intended organisational change. The amount of sense given to the change by those in positions of power does not matter. If the stories and metaphors do not align with the meaning given by those affected by the change, collaboration will be tainted by confusion, mistrust, and disengagement.

This book is about how we mediate stories at the workplace during times of organisational change. Stories with a work as craft mindset can help others to make sense of their working roles, tools, resources, and the purpose of a community of practice through Collaborative Storytelling.

Throughout the book, we discuss our values and beliefs as Story Mediators and for Collaborative Storytelling with our method of Collaborative Story Craft. The book aims to provide a theoretical framework and tools, including potential practices to build trust and collaboration with those who are challenged to make sense of an activity during times of change.

This book is the outcome of a collaborative process with a deep meaningful purpose of working with stories to empower inclusive and consensual change, which acknowledges and draws from all the stories affected. Within our work practice, we see our roles as Story Mediators. Embodying our values and beliefs at work and in our social worlds, we are also Story Craftivists. As Story Craftivists, our mission is to empower authentic stories and help people work better together.

Helsinki, Finland Tricia Cleland Silva Paulo de Tarso Fonseca Silva

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to acknowledge the Academy of Finland and Hanken School of Economics for funding and supporting Tricia’s work through the writing of this book and making it Open Access. A special thanks also to Jess Kelley (The Write Kelley) for keeping us accountable to each other and ourselves during the collaborative processes of writing.

Contents

Introduction References

Exclusive Narratives

Truth and Story

Index

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Tricia Cleland Silva and Paulo de Tarso Fonseca Silva are a multicultural family who live and work in Helsinki, Finland. Tricia holds a PhD in Management and Organisation from Hanken School of Economics, and Paulo de Tarso holds a Masters in Adult Education from the Center for Research on Activity, Development and Learning (CRADLE), University of Helsinki. This book is based on their work as Story Mediators with their method of Collaborative Story Craft. Their method is used in their practices through their consultancy business Metaphora International, their teaching and research within universities, and other communities of practice. The theory of Collaborative Storytelling is a deeper reflection of their work, and it embodies their values and beliefs as a couple, parents, and members of many social worlds.

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CL CHAT CSA CSAS CSC TILES

ABBREVIATIONS

Change Laboratory

Cultural-Historical Activity Theory

Collaborative Storytelling Activity

Collaborative Storytelling Activity System

Collaborative Story Craft

Trade, Inclusion, Liberty, Equilibrium, and Sustainability xvii

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LIST OF FIGURES

Game of Snakes and Ladders. (Image source: Tricia Cleland Silva, 17.4.21)

Activity Theory model (after Engestrôm 2015, p. 68) Collaborative Storytelling Activity System Model

Collaborative Storytelling Activity System incorporated into the activity system of an organisation

Collaborative Storytelling Activity with the intervention tool Collaborative Story Craft

Cyclical model of Collaborative Storytelling during organisational change with the intervention method of Collaborative Story Craft

The wellness dimensions: eight areas of physical and psychological wellness

An example of a metaphoric field interpretation

An example of health care practitioners’ interpretation of a metaphoric field

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Xix

Introduction

Abstract Collaborative Storytelling is a theory of social and cultural change. The theory itself advocates for space and time to reflect on social identities and embodied lived experiences through stories. In this chapter, we introduce how metaphors, narratives and stories powerfully impact organisational change in exclusive or inclusive ways.

Keywords Communities of practice ¢ Emotional tax ° Exclusion ¢ Metaphorical stories e Organisational change

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate —Carl Jung

This book is about building inclusive narratives in organisational change by making sense of work through Collaborative Storytelling. Collaborative Storytelling is a theory of social and cultural change which advocates for space and time to reflect on social identities and embodied, lived experiences through stories in relation to an activity. Like in all social settings, everyone at the workplace is a storyteller, and their stories can inform and

© The Author(s) 2022 1 T. Cleland Silva, P. de Tarso Fonseca Silva, Making Sense of Work reveal common themes that can unite actors towards intentional and committed change.

Organisational change is cultural change as it questions assumptions, values, and beliefs that underlie current realities (Alvesson and Sveningsson 2015). Storytelling can reveal meaning and intentions of organisational members, the work, and the purpose of the change without committing the error of acting on it without consent (Cleland Silva and Fonseca Silva 2021).

Metaphors and stories are strong communication channels to emotions and embodied lived experiences, especially in times of uncertainty and vulnerability (Broussine and Vince 1996, p. 6). Exploring and opening up the metaphors and stories can initiate a conversation as to what is actually going on, without isolating or marginalising individuals” perceptions. People need to believe in the benefit of the change, and that their contribution is supported, acknowledged, and purposeful.

Individual and collective conflicts arise when dominant narratives (including metaphors and stories) are imposed on individuals without meaningful discussion or consent. Exclusive narratives have the potential to block creativity, motivation, and prevent individuals from engaging with purposeful and rewarding work. A single dominant story is dangerous and risks critical misunderstandings of another person’s assumptions and lived experiences (Ngozi Adichie 2009).

At work, individuals bring their own stories and lived experiences to a community of practice.

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are groups of people brought together through an activity system or “practice” (Lave and Wenger 1991) within a cultural-historical context. Members of the CoPs are connected by what they do and their abilities to practice with certain tools and defined objectives, roles, and rules. A CoP can develop naturally, as the members” common interests motivate them to share their knowledge and experiences through storytelling.

Through the exchange of stories about the activity, each member of a community has an opportunity to learn from each other. At the same time, each member from different social worlds brings unique stories that are embodied and relational, based on their lived experiences. For instance, a

1 INTRODUCTION 3 teacher, born and raised in a city by immigrant parents, working at a rural elementary school, shares stories from a social position that is different from their colleague who was educated and raised in the same area of the school. Even though both teachers have the same university degree, access to similar school resources, and their work has similar rules and objectives, their engagement at work, relationships, and performance are influenced by how they perceive themselves and how others perceive them.

Most often, when stories are exchanged, they are filled with metaphors as metaphors can invoke or activate stories (Snaevarr 2010, p. 233).

Metaphor, as a word, originates from Greek ‘amphora’, a storage container used to transport valuable goods. This definition is a metaphor in itself as metaphors are figures of speech to describe, experience, and understand “one kind of thing in terms of another” (Lakoff and Johnson 2003, p. 5) or transport “meaning” from one kind of thing to another. Metaphors have the power to not only transfer meaning, but also provoke, transform, and bridge interpretations of the world, including the stories we tell and are told.

In various ways, metaphors can support sensemaking, not only our physical reality but also our inner imaginary landscape. Metaphors can transform stories through narration and their interpretation may evolve, especially in group conversations. When this happens, an opportunity arises to collaborate and create a metaphorical story (Gibbs 2013) that resonates (or conflicts) with the members of the group. In communities of practice, a metaphorical story can engage members in collective sensemaking aligned with the purpose of the work activity, affording new opportunities for change (Cleland Silva and Fonseca Silva 2019).

As stories and metaphors carry dominant patterns of narratives in an activity and/or narrative systems, individuals may not feel psychologically or physically safe to exchange stories with others, mainly with those who hold more powerful positions in terms of authority at work or social privilege. This is especially true when the dominant stories or metaphors conflict with individual lived experiences and personal values and beliefs. These conflicts can be harmful for the individual and manifest in physical and psychological ways, which the NGO, Catalyst, in a 2018 report, calls “emotional tax.”

“Emotional tax” is an effect of workplace exclusion on emotions, mind, and body based on biases of the employees” social identity such as gender, race, and/or ethnicity. In the 2018 report from the NGO Catalyst, employees shared how these impacted (or taxed) their physical and psychological health in painful and unhealthy ways (Dnika and Thorpe-Moscon 2018, p. 4). For example, Ty, a 27 year old White and Latino man, describes the bias identified by his hair (2018, p. 6):

Before a [job] interview, I changed the appearance of my hair to make it look more like the hair texture/style of the majority of the people at the [company].

Whereas, Tena, a 25 year old Black Latina, talks about how her identity is constructed through different channels of communication and subsequently her identity is ‘suppressed’ by her superiors (Dnika and Thorpe-Moscon 2018, p. 6):

I work from home, so none of my callers can see me. Based on the sound of my voice they assume I am a young, Caucasian female, and so they are very comfortable making very racist comments against different nationalities. I have to pretend that I am not offended, and I am encouraged by my superiors to suppress my true identity.

Throughout life, we navigate many social worlds that construct and impact our sense of self.

Social worlds are groups of people who share common beliefs and values, and individuals are committed to these worlds based on their sense of identity, purpose, and contribution (Strauss 1978).

Intersecting social worlds are larger systems of narratives that act as invisible forces, influencing us consciously and unconsciously. Exploring these systems for patterns of meaning through storytelling helps us to reflect and potentially communicate our position in a social world and the way our sense of self impacts and is perceived by others.

1 INTRODUCTION 5

Systems of narratives affect social worlds and individuals differently and unequally. Identities constructed and developed in social worlds intersect with individual attributes, such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, language, religion, nationality, and physical and mental abilities. Most often, socially constructed identities interwoven in systems of narratives influence access to education, income, employment, health, and even life expectancy (e.g., hooks 2000 on class). In other words, social identities constructed by stories and narratives have material consequences for our physical bodies, our emotions, and our positional status.

People’s lives have multiple stories, but the potential of these stories is restricted by powerful systems of narratives (White 2007) and dominant social worlds. To build narratives during organisational change, individuals need to start with their own stories, reflecting on their past and present experiences and their social identity.

From an early age, we have been taught ways of thinking and behaving through spoken and performed stories. Those stories create a sense of self about, which community we belong to, and what our purpose and roles are in that community. Stories have a powerful impact on our surroundings and contribute to larger systems of collective meaning, influencing which stories are accepted, challenged, ignored, or silenced.

Cultivating personal power and a sense of responsibility to others starts with knowing and valuing who you are. In other words, telling your story with self-awareness, challenging narratives that do not represent one’s reality, and holding yourself accountable for the stories you tell.

In this book, we narrate metaphorical stories to explain the concepts used in Collaborative Storytelling with the tool Collaborative Story Craft (CSC). We invite the reader to engage with their inner imaginary landscape through stories and reflect on their own social positioning. The metaphorical stories are narrated from our empirical research, other literary sources, and our own lived experiences.

Alvesson, Mats, and Stefan Sveningsson. 2015. Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.

Broussine, Mike, and Russ Vince. 1996. Working with metaphor towards organizational change. Organisation development: Metaphorical explorations, 57.

Cleland Silva, Tricia, and Paulo de Tarson Fonseca Silva. 2019. Validating change through collaborative story craft. SAGE Research Methods Cases Part 2 (SAGE

Research Methods Cases). Thousand Oaks: SAGE. _ https://doi. org/10.4135/9781526478245.

Cleland Silva, Tricia, and Paulo de Tarso Fonseca Silva. 2021. Collaborative story craft as a tool for inclusive workplace practices. In History and business storytelling, ed. Albert Mills, Nick Deal, and David Boje. Singapore: World Scientific.

Dnika, Travis J., and Jennifer Thorpe-Moscon. 2018. Day-to-Day experiences of emotional tax among women and men of color in the workplace. Toronto: Catalyst. https://www.catalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02 /emotionaltax.pdf.

Gibbs, Raymond W., Jr. 2013. Walking the walk while thinking about the talk: Embodied interpretation of metaphorical narratives. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 42 (4): 363-378.

hooks, bell. 2000. Where we stand: Class matters. New York: Routledge.

Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. 2003. Metaphors we live by. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1980).

Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger. 1991. Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ngozi Adichie, Chimamanda. 2009. The danger of a single story. Ted Talk Global, October 7. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_ the_danger_of_a_single_story.

Snevarr, Stefan. 2010. Metaphors, narratives, emotions: Their interplay and impact. Leiden: Brill.

Strauss, Anselm L. 1978. Social worlds perspective. Studies in Symbolic Interaction 1, ed. Norman Denzin: 119-128.

White, Michael. 2007. Maps of narrative practice. New York: W. W. Norton.

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Chapter 2

Abstract Similar to social identities, each story and its narration is unique and yet relational and situated in a context of history, culture, and materiality. In this chapter, we explore local and global systems of narratives and their powerful influence on the stories and metaphors we tell and we are told to make sense of our embodied lived experiences. Through our theory of Collaborative Storytelling, we discuss how Collaborative Storytelling Activity, with the tool Collaborative Story Craft, expands individual and collective sensemaking at work to build inclusive narratives in organisational change.

Keywords Communities of practice * Embodiment ¢ Metaphors e Narratives ° Power ° Sensemaking ° Social and cultural scripts * Stories e Storytelling

When the storyteller tells the truth, she reminds us that human beings are more alike than unalike.

—Maya Angelou

Each individual possesses unique stories based on their social identities, relationships, and embodied experiences in a material world. Our bodies and social material worlds are based on interacting systems that have

© The Author(s) 2022 7 T. Cleland Silva, P. de Tarso Fonseca Silva, Making Sense of Work purpose, roles, and practices which influence and regulate our choices, how we act, our daily routines, our relationships, our work life, and local and global governance. Each individual is uniquely impacted by these systems in different ways that range from empowering to oppressive.

Intersecting these systems are powerful narratives that affect how stories are signified and told (Snævarr 2010, p. 168).

Narrative is defined as a sequence of events with a beginning, series of unfolding events but not necessarily an ending (Halverson et al. AOU e WW),

Narratives are produced and accessible to others through different means such as written texts, spoken words, pictures, symbols, artefacts, and so forth (Cleland Silva and Fonseca Silva 2019, p. 86). A narrative requires both a narrator and an audience, whose viewpoints and social identities affect how the narrative is received (Gabriel 2004). For instance, a narration sent through a work email about an event is received differently than a conversation in the coffee room about the same or similar event.

In this way, narrative is not simply reporting what has been done but rather how the individuals feel about the story they are telling (Greenhalgh 1999). While being narrated, the story provides agency to the narrator as the story “can float freely for any talk about a sequence of events” (Labov 2013, p. 18).

A story is what is being recounted which differs from the way the story is told through narration. In this respect, narratives can be understood as signifiers, whereas stories can be seen as the signified (Snævarr 2010, p. 168). This said, stories do not have to be restrained by narratives, and yet, the narrator or receiver may believe that stories are.

In local and global systems, certain stories can dominate or be restrained by narratives (White 1995) which are based on the individuals social position and identity as well the individual’s perception of self in relation to others. For instance, based on the cultural and historical context, narratives can construct stories of the “ideal worker” (see Acker 1990, 2006), the “good immigrant” (Shukla 2016), or the “caring nurse” (Cleland Silva 2019), which have material consequences for the actors affected by the narration. Material consequences can be, for instance, the “ideal worker” receiving higher pay than the “caring nurse,” whose work is constructed as a “calling” rather than of productive value. This highlights power relations in stories based on social identities which are embedded in the local and global systems of narratives.

EXCLUSIVE NARRATIVES

Exclusive narratives that construct stories of others come with a cost (Cleland Silva and Fonseca Silva 2021). For instance, narratives in the workplace that are imposed on the employees can lead to confusion, disengagement, and isolation. The challenges of identifying oneself in the collective story limit the opportunities of organisational growth and sustainable ways to collaborate.

These unconscious biases can mindlessly be incorporated in the organisation’s culture, creating work practices based on stereotype narratives. As exemplified by Ng and Sears’s article “Walking the talk on diversity” (2020), narratives of managers and leaders send messages to the employees of how the organisation constructs diversity and practices of inclusion. If the narratives are exclusive, the practices will continue to exclude employees with detrimental effects on the individual well-being, motivation, and organisational performance.

When the workplace prevents individual narratives and identities to be represented in a common story and practices, the culture of the organisation enables a narrow sense of lived experiences. Exclusive narratives and practices not only harm the individual but also send a message that the employees’ only option, in order to be themselves, is to leave the organisation (Dnika and Thorpe-Moscon 2018, p. 4). Or, if they stay, they feel obliged to “bargain” with the employers’ dominant narratives to work with their sense of purpose and skills (Cleland Silva 2019, p. 173). The sensitivity of knowing how to identify and address exclusion and inclusion in the workplace narratives highlights how important it is to talk openly about differences (Dnika et al. 2016).

Confronting or countering narratives that exclude actors, who subsequently feel “on guard” (Dnika and Thorpe-Moscon 2018, p. 4), requires a recentring of the story, shifting the narratives from the dominant “in group” to the peripheral “out group” (Choudhury 2015, pp. 82-84). This is a process that the organisation must support, facilitate, and incorporate into their strategies and workplace activities. Policies of diversity are not enough to create an organisational culture which is inclusive. For social and cultural change to take place, leaders have to acknowledge the stories and narratives that they share, promote, and encourage versus the narratives and stories that they ignore, belittle, and silence.

There is an old Yiddish saying “what is truer than truth? The story.” Story can serve as a communication tool in processes of making explicit sense of events (Eshraghi and Taffler 2015) and through metaphorical lenses, the story harnesses the complexity of people’s emotional states (Fainsilber and Ortony 1987), especially during change (Smollan 2014). A good story that resonates and connects the narrator with the receiving audience helps to communicate and make sense of our deeper collective lived experiences (Weick 1995, p. 61).

Let us tell you a story about truth that has been told in many languages and cultures. This is our narration.

TRUTH AND STORY

There once was an old woman who was tired, hungry, and weary from her travels. She came upon a small village which she entered in search of hospitality, food, and rest.

She knocked on the first house’s door, which was soon answered by a young man who glared at the old woman with disgust.

“What do you want?” he asked with impatience.

“Please, Tam hungry and thirsty. Would you be so kind to invite me in and offer your hospitality?” requested the old woman.

“Absolutely not! Cant you see I am a busy man? I have no time for you!” he sneered.

On she went and at every door she knocked, she was either turned away, unacknowledged or even screamed at and spat on.

Giving up her search for hospitality, the old woman went to the village’s square and sat by a well-kept fountain.

It may have been a few minutes or hours, the old woman could not recall, but when she raised her eyes, she saw a beautiful stranger in a long golden cloak entering the village.

This stranger knocked on the same doors whose residents rejected the old woman. But, this time, the stranger was greeted with a warm reception and an abundance of kindness. She was told over and over again, “Please enter!” and “What a pleasure it is to meet you!”

And, could you believe it? Even laughter could be heard in the air as the stranger skipped her way through the village from door to door.

As the beautiful stranger thanked her last host, she glanced over to the village’s square and spotted the old woman, who still sat by the fountain, feeling both weak from her travels and defeated from her poor reception. The beautiful stranger approached the old woman and asked, “Dear woman, why do you look so sad?”

The old woman replied, “After a long journey, I sought food, water, and rest in the same houses that you have entered, but after looking at me, none of the villagers thought I was worth their attention.” Acknowledging her privilege and feeling a strong sense of responsibility, the beautiful stranger replied, “Would you consider coming back to the same houses with me? I have a long cloak that I could embrace you under and at the very least, you will be able to enter the homes.”

The old woman agreed, not only because she needed food and water but also that she was charmed and intrigued by the stranger’s presence.

As both women walked towards the first house together, the beautiful stranger said, “I still don’t know your name.”

The old woman replied, “My name is Truth, what is your name?”

The beautiful stranger smiled and answered, “My name is Story.”

As the women entered the houses, the villagers saw Truth with different eyes.

Take a moment and ask yourself if this story speaks to you.

e Who were the main characters and how do you describe them? How did the story make you think?

How did the story make you feel?

Was there a problem or conflict that you identified in the story? How was that problem or conflict addressed and by whom?

Did the story evoke a metaphor that you can identify in your reality?

In this situation, there are no right, or wrong answers like in all stories, but rather an active exchange of collaborative sensemaking. Story invites new interpretations, giving possibilities to consent and reconcile with the reality that our social worlds intersect with various narratives, reflecting the uniqueness of human experience.

THE SOcIAL WORLDS OF SNAKES AND LADDERS

Most often, stories are, in part or entirely, filled with metaphors which are used as an entry point to dialogue amongst people to make sense of larger, complex social systems. Metaphors are defined as “the phenomenon whereby we talk and, potentially, think about something in terms of something else” (Semino 2008, p. 1) and stories filled with metaphors are metaphorical stories (Gibbs 2013; Cameron et al. 2010).

According to Marshak (1996), recurring metaphors in organisations create an invisible force that influences our behaviours and ways of thinking. He calls this invisible force a metaphoric field which is “an interrelated set of conscious to unconscious, explicit to tacit, core to peripheral, organizing themes that are expressed metaphorically and which structure perception and behaviour” (Marshak 1996, p. 152). By identifying these themes, Marshak believes that we can inform ourselves about “conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious assumptions, beliefs and patterns” (ibid.), and the ways in which these metaphors impact our behaviour. For instance, Marshak writes that if organisational change efforts are consistent with the metaphoric field, members are able to relate to the change, even if the change is not fully accepted. On the other hand, if the efforts are inconsistent, members “just won’t get it” and quickly ignore, disengage, or discard the effort (1993).

Using a metaphorical story to illustrate systems of narratives, we draw from the board game Snakes and Ladders.

With Indian origins, the game Snakes and Ladders is over a century old, and its original use has its roots in morality lessons: a player’s progression up the board reflects life’s journey complicated by virtues (ladders) and vices (snakes) (Pritchard 1994, p. 162).

Designed for two players or more, the game is relational. The players are expected to roll a die on their turn, in order to move up the numbers, through the gridded board. “Ladders” and “snakes” are placed throughout the board, connecting two specific board squares. The object of the game is to navigate the game board, according to the rolls of the dice, from the start (bottom square) to the finish (top square), helped by climbing ladders, but hindered by falling down snakes.

At first glance, the game is a simple race based on sheer luck with a common shared sense of the same reality. However, using the lens of the game’s original morality purpose, we can interpret the metaphor of moving up and down ladders as a social system based on narratives of social position, power, and privilege rather than the simplicity of rolling the dice (Fig. 2.1).

Exploring the board game as a system of narratives, we begin to understand power as a social and relational phenomenon (I am winning or I am losing against someone else), but also a psychological one (I lost, therefore, I have bad luck), which we may carry or discard in our own constructed narratives of the world.