Educational leaders work in increasingly complex, high pressure environments with people who have diverse backgrounds, interests, and goals. To be effective, these leaders must understand the dynamic process of creating and managing culture and change. Stories have the potential to influence culture and to help people connect, develop genuine understanding, and unite around common purposes (Fisher, 1984; Guber, 2011a). This action research study explores the concept of intentionally using storytelling as a leadership strategy and examines the impact and effectiveness of assigning, creating, and sharing stories in graduate classes focused on educational leadership and school improvement.