The power of story in community challenges.

This is the fifth in a series of articles revolving around the topics that will be presented at the 16th Annual Leadership Summit scheduled for September 11-13 at the Resort at the Mountain (Mt. Hood) in Welches, Ore. The program, "Exploring the Frontiers of Leadership in Local Government," includes underlying themes of exploring change, collaboration, conversation, courage and the personal challenges of serving as a leader in local government.

In the lives of local officials, those who can convey community values, history and potential through story are most likely to become long-term leaders. Story is a profoundly effective tool for organizing public opinion and cohesive response to events.

In my book, "Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story," there are anecdote to the power of story. I wrote, "Telling each other our stories is like gesturing with lightning bolts--it's exciting and electric, and you hope everyone is being a little careful with the power of it all." Handling a lightning bolt comes with the need for responsible use, and for understanding of the power of the word.

One illustration of story about community, power and electricity comes out of Juneau, Alaska, the state's picturesque capital strung along the edge of Gastineau Channel with impenetrable mountains and glaciers. In mid-April, an avalanche destroyed the high mountain transmission towers that provide Juneau with electricity from a remote hydroelectric dam. The power company had a back-up diesel generator that began chugging away to keep the lights on, but at a cost that would send electricity rates rocketing 400 percent.

Juneau is a city of 31,000 with one highway that's 42 miles long and runs from the airport to the end of the road, so it is accessible only by sea and air. Juneau is an urban center that is dependent on transport for all of its incoming goods including diesel fuel. In that moment after the avalanche, choices needed to be made by elected officials, civic servants, the local newspaper and the power company about how best to shape and focus community response through the story of developing events.

One option would have been for all parties to spend time blaming each other for not having infrastructure redundancy or more cost effective back up in place. Another option would have been for the state to rant at the city, and vice versa, leaving life to go on with barely a flicker--until the bills hit home. However, such a magnitude of increase in power bills was like a financial earthquake so the necessity for the city to pull together was obvious.

Consequently, a coalition of local nonprofit groups and the city, in partnership with community groups, businesses, schools, the power company, and local media lead by the newspaper, named itself Juneau Unplugged. Without delay, it went to work leading the community into a story of resilience, cooperation and creativity that redefined patterns of electrical use.

"City government and the newspaper played a critical role in framing this event as a community-building opportunity and rallied people to face the challenge," noted community organizer Barbara Belknap. "The paper kept us informed about power company response and progress, but didn't attack. Cutting wattage became a community obsession: people went to work with wet hair and wrinkled clothes; kids unplugged from Nintendo games, played cards and did homework. Public buildings turned off all possible extra lighting and televisions for sale at the big box stores were unplugged. Juneau Unplugged created a website and wrapped the whole experience in stories of creativity and civic pride.

"Our usual power bill was only $56 a month, lower than most as we considered ourselves already running the household at a sustainable rate," continued Belknap. "But we were able to reduce kilowatt usage another 60 percent and paid a bill of $112 for the first month following the avalanche (a 100 percent increase rather than the initial 400 percent increase using diesel power). The city reduced power usage by 40 percent and a sense of community spirit increased tenfold."

It's a complex story, but what keeps people going are the opportunities to step up to challenge, to create a "new norm," and to see their efforts within a whole story.

From my point of view as a "storycatcher," Juneau's response is a great teaching tale. Similarly, in light of current conditions, local communities and their leaders will increasingly face unexpected, drastic and apparently random events and, when these things happen, communities will require leaders with skilled and practiced capacities for story.

Story is how we see the world and, when the world around us changes, the first thing we need is a story that incorporates change. Story-based leaders practice conveying community story as part of their regular communication with city staff and the public; they integrate the capacity for story into their leadership style. There are four benefits to this.

First, information is retained by the listener or reader at a much greater rate when it's embedded in story. For citizens to remember something, tell them through story. This is what happened in Juneau when the power company provided a 30-page document showing the damage high in the mountains and explaining the nature of the avalanche, the weather conditions, and weaving in eye-witness accounts of their response team.

Second, it is easier to remember what was said to the public when information is employed by story rather than when employed by data. Data can be confusing. Story-embedded data help the speaker stay focused, communicate clearly and create an environment of helpful reaction.

Third, story creates a context for information, so that people see how one thing fits with another. Context creates meaning. Once people have meaning, they can live through anything and will most likely choose cohesive patterns of response.

In a complex situation, things are going to work imperfectly with frustrations building at any slowdown. But looking at Juneau in a context of story, they amplified an image of themselves as a self-determined, self-educating, cooperative community that would help people and also hold their government accountable to fulfill the promises of this story.

Last but not least, in a world where we need to make a new map, story is the single most unifying factor available for catalyzing action.

At the same time, this power of story can be misused as easily as it can be well used. When story-based leadership is offered with integrity and consciousness of its ability to sway public opinion, the storyteller becomes a figure capable of the kind of leadership that cities most need.

As local officials face community challenges and local issues with global implications, story will allow them to stand firm in the values that are a community's foundation, acknowledge the complex issues faced today, and chart a successful future that will always hold a narrative thread.

During the Leadership Summit, local officials will be able to look at a process for charting the course of collective events and how to develop stories at any point in the process of integration--before, during and after "cornerstone moments" in community life.

Details: The annual Leadership Summit is NLC's premiere leadership development program for local officials. Designed as a leadership retreat, the summit provides personal leadership development that is focused on community perspectives. For more information, contact the Leadership Training Institute at (202) 626-3127 or visit the NLC website at www.nlc.org.

Christina Baldwin is the author of several books including "One to One," "Self-Understanding through Journal Writing," "Life's Companion Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest," "Calling the Circle, the First and Future Culture" and "The Seven Whispers, A Spiritual Practice for Times Like These." Her latest book, "Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story," turns to the theme that weaves through all her work and writing, which is her belief in the power of story to renew how to live in the world. Baldwin also co-founded PeerSpirit Inc., an educational company dedicated to community, communication and council.