The Pixar principle: what storytelling reveals about powerful leadership and coaching
Pixar didn’t just revolutionise animation—they codified the psychology of storytelling. In a now-famous internal memo, a set of 22 storytelling principles was shared among Pixar’s creative leads. These weren’t screenwriting formulas. They were distilled truths about how humans connect, empathise, struggle, and change. And while they were written for animators, the deeper you look, the clearer it becomes; these “rules” are just as applicable to boardrooms, coaching rooms, and leadership offsites as they are to film studios.
We don’t talk enough about storytelling in leadership. Not as a fluffy comms tactic or a slide deck opener, but as a critical operating system.
Story drives meaning. Story shapes identity. Story builds belief.
And Pixar, the most emotionally resonant storytelling engine in modern history, offers a blueprint. One that most leaders—and frankly, most coaches—aren’t using nearly enough.
But here’s the punchline: Pixar’s rules of storytelling weren’t written for the boardroom. Yet they might be one of the sharpest strategic tools available to anyone guiding others through change, growth, pressure, or reinvention.
Whether you’re a seasoned executive, a people leader, or a coach developing the next generation—Pixar’s 22 rules aren’t just about telling stories.
They’re about how you help people make sense of the story they’re already in.
And that’s leadership in its purest form.
Wait—why Pixar?
Because Pixar doesn’t just tell stories. They tell transformation.
Every character is stretched, tested, cracked open. Every plot moves from equilibrium to disorder to a new, hard-won truth.
That’s leadership. That’s coaching.
And that’s what makes this framework so transferable.
So what if you took these storytelling principles—used to build billion-dollar franchises—and applied them to how you coach someone through imposter syndrome, or lead a team through volatility?
You’d communicate more powerfully. You’d connect more deeply. You’d become the kind of leader people remember.
Let’s break this down.
1. “You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.”
When was the last time you shared a work-in-progress version of your leadership? Not the polished, LinkedIn-ready narrative—but the uncomfortable middle?
Most people don't follow success. They follow struggle that matters.
Coaching reflection:
Are you helping your clients celebrate effort, or just outcomes?
Leadership challenge:
What effort of yours needs to be made more visible—not for ego, but for relatability?
2. “Keep in mind what’s interesting to the audience.”
This one stings. Because most corporate communication—even coaching—is egocentric.
It's not about what's meaningful to them, it’s about what you think sounds clever.
Relevance trumps brilliance.
Coaching reflection:
Are you using models that serve your client, or models that serve your training?
Leadership challenge:
When you speak to your team, are you answering the question they’re asking, or the one you want them to hear?
3. “Use the story spine: once upon a time… until finally…”
Narrative structure helps people process complexity. It gives change a beginning, a cause, a resolution.
Use this to make strategic shifts feel logical. Use it to help your client reframe their career derailment into a story that makes them stronger—not smaller.
Coaching prompt:
“Let’s map this out like a story—what was your inciting incident?”
Leadership tool:
Use this structure to brief change. People don’t resist change—they resist chaos.
4. “Simplify. Focus. Combine. Be efficient.”
Complexity signals insecurity. Clarity signals leadership.
In coaching, simplify the path. In leadership, simplify the message.
Ask yourself:
Could you say it in fewer words?
Could you say it with fewer slides?
Could your team repeat your message, unprompted?
If not, it’s too complex.
5. “What is your character good at? Now throw the opposite at them.”
Coaching exists at the edge of comfort. Leadership grows in opposition.
That’s where identity gets stretched. That's where the untested parts emerge.
Coaching tool:
Help your client explore their underused muscle. A visionary who avoids detail? Coach them into the weeds. A cautious operator? Coach them into boldness.
Leadership insight:
Don’t just optimise strengths. Disrupt them, then rebuild.
6. “Come up with the ending before you figure out the middle.”
Start with the end-state.
This works in transformation strategy. It works in career design. It works in culture change.
If you can’t articulate what done well looks like—you’re not ready to lead it.
Challenge your client:
“Paint me a picture of success—behaviourally, emotionally, structurally.”
Challenge yourself:
“Have I defined the destination clearly enough that others could walk toward it without me?”
7. “When you’re stuck, list what wouldn’t happen next.”
Brilliant for unlocking creative thinking.
When a client is paralysed with indecision, or a team is spinning in analysis—flip the frame.
“What definitely won’t happen?”
“What would be ridiculous?”
“What’s off the table?”
That forces clarity on what remains.
8. “Pull apart the stories you love.”
What stories resonate with your client? What leadership stories inspire your team?
Get curious. Dissect them. What values do they reflect? What risks do they showcase?
We project ourselves into the narratives we respect.
Use that to uncover identity.
9. “Put it on paper.”
Thinking becomes clearer when it's externalised.
In coaching, get your clients to write things out—visions, fears, scripts, regrets, hypotheses.
In leadership, don’t let strategy live in your head. If you can't articulate it cleanly in 200 words, you probably don’t understand it fully yet.
10. “Discount the first few ideas.”
The first answers are almost always rehearsed. They sound good, but they’re safe.
The fifth idea? That’s usually the truth.
Sit longer. Go deeper.
Ask:
“And what else?”
“What are you not saying out loud yet?”
The so what?
If you only see storytelling as a communication skill, you’ve missed the point.
Story is how humans process reality.
Story is how we attach meaning to challenge, change, and identity.
And leaders who know how to use story become leaders who shape behaviour, belief, and belonging.
They don’t just explain the work—they frame it.
They don’t just give feedback—they build narrative arcs.
They don’t just coach careers—they rewrite self-perception.
One final question.
What story are you telling right now?
And more importantly—
Are you telling it clearly, consciously, and in a way that invites others to care?
Because your team, your client, and your future self are all listening.
Make it count.
