The Stories We Hide at Work

The Antenarrative Perspective

Disney is widely regarded as one of the world’s most powerful storytellers. From Snow White to Frozen, it has built a century-long empire on happily-ever-afters. But what if Disney’s real story is something else entirely?

In a landmark 1995 study, management scholar David Boje argued that Disney wasn’t just telling stories; it was performing organizational control through storytelling. Beneath the polished tales of magical kingdoms, Boje uncovered a messier, more contested world of antenarratives: raw, half-formed, often suppressed stories that reveal what’s really going on behind the scenes.

Think of it this way: if storytelling is what organizations say, antenarratives are what people whisper, grumble, question, or dream, before the official version gets written. Boje uses the metaphor of Tamara, a play where scenes unfold in different rooms at once, and no audience member can see everything. In organizations like Disney, the same holds true: different departments, roles, and voices experience entirely different “realities.” There isn’t one Disney story - there are dozens, maybe hundreds. Some are promoted. Others are silenced.

Boje's deep dive into Disney’s archives, spanning from the 1920s to the 1990s, revealed a corporation that constantly constructed and revised its internal mythology. In the early years, Disney sold itself as a creative utopia. But behind the scenes were labor disputes, time-clock regulations, and strict hierarchies. As Disney scaled, it kept calling its workers “family” while suppressing dissent and firing those who didn’t fall in line. The company’s official story was about harmony and magic. The antenarratives told of control, inequality, and lost voices.

Why should we care?

Because Disney isn’t unique, every organization, from startups to universities to governments, tells stories about itself. These stories might seem need and tidy from the outside, but if we dig deeper, the untold stories shape culture, distribute power, and influence who belongs and who doesn’t. Unfortunately, most of us treat those stories as if they were neutral or true, rather than carefully curated narratives built to reinforce a particular identity.

Boje’s insight is that real organizational change doesn't start with a new mission statement or slogan. It starts by listening to the antenarratives that don’t fit the script. They’re often where innovation, resistance, and renewal begin. Microsoft, the organization I used to work for before founding Network Capital, changed its mission statement in 2014. Since then, the company’s valuation has grown tenfold under the leadership of Satya Nadella. In addition to getting its strategies and priorities right, it made sure to allow multiple narratives to coexist, compete, and thrive, encouraging employees across all levels to voice new ideas, challenge assumptions, and contribute to the company’s evolving story.

So if you're leading a company, ask: what are the stories you’re not telling? What gets left out of the polished narrative?

And if you’re working within one, pay attention to the whispers in the hallway, the side conversations, the eye rolls in the meeting. They’re early signals. They’re the organization trying to tell a different story, one that hasn’t yet been written but needs to be considered carefully. In an era where trust is fragile and the future is uncertain, maybe the most powerful thing a leader can do isn’t to tell a better story, but to build a world where more stories can be heard.