photo credit: Eddi 07

I often get asked, ” So, what is narrative coaching, anyway?” I had occasion recently to put the essence of it on one slide for a client. I found this process very helpful, particularly because so much of what I have done and taught since I midwifed narrative coaching is so experiential. In putting this together, I realised that narrative coaching is as much a philosophy as it is a set of practices, and it is as much about spiritual development as it is about practical change. In some important ways, it is a way of Being more than acts of Doing. I offer these to you, not as the definitive scripture, but rather as an invitation to a conversation.

Narrative coaching is:

1. A sacramental approach to holding space and working with the relational field as it emerges

2. A non-directive, real-time attention to the experience and narration, focused largely on the other person

3. A dynamic use of narrative material as the primary source and narrative pattern recognition as the primary skill

4. An appreciation of identity as situated in communities and embodied in discourse in supporting sustainable shifts in behaviors

5. A commitment to deep, generative listening based in understanding narrative structure, neuroscience, psychology and practice

6. A  process of raising awareness, focusing attention, taking new actions and increasing accountability in yourself and others

7. A methodology for helping people, individually or in groups, to make shifts in their lives one story at a time and with increased agency

I look forward to you comments and your views on what you think narrative coaching is all about!

Everyone now and then we get opportunities to step into something bigger than ourselves and bigger than the life we had once lived. This post is about one of those moments for me. I invite you to be alert for yours.

Through a dear friend, Diana Sterling, I met the wonderful Frederick Marx, one of the directors of the acclaimed documentary “Hoop Dreams” and an important voice for the Mankind Project. Through conversations with Frederick, I learned about his new film, tentatively entitled “The Road to Zanskar.”  His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama said that  Zanskar, the last remaining Tibetan Buddhist society with a continuous untainted lineage dating back 1,000s of years, was vital to the survival of Tibetan Buddhism. This movie is the story of two monks he has instructed to help Zanskar’s culture, language, and religion survive by leading a group of children across high mountain passes to a school where they can learn their native ways.

The movie will be out next year, narrated by Richard Gere. You can watch the trailer here (choose the “watch in high quality” option). You can donate money to help Frederick complete this film and get it out to audiences by going here.

Aside from this moving film, the other story for me is how I came to be involved. All my life I have donated time and money to causes that were important to me and charities that were worthwhile. While I am doing well in my business these days, more importantly I wanted to feel like my contributions were making more of a difference. As such, I chose to make a significant contribution to this film in order to help its get made. It meant a lot to me to know my offering would make its way into the world this way. My gift was more up front and personal. Where would you like to make a new kind of difference?

Secondly, I have been researching, writing, teaching and coaching about narratives for ten years. While I have felt proud of what I have accomplished in my work, I wanted to move farther out on my own learning edge to see how I might apply my expertise in a new domain. I was able to use what I know about transformative stories  to support Frederick’s development of the film. It was such a joy to take that risk and help shape something so tangible.

We are all on the road to our own Zanskar, seeking to preserve and nurture that which is important to us and best about us. We live in a time when we need your courage and imagination. Where can you step into a new and richer story of your life?

photo credit: woodleywonderworks
As we launch our new narrative coaching workshop series in Perth, Australia on May 26th/27th, I was curious to know what was on your mind about clients and their stories these days. What do you wish you knew about narrative/coaching that would help you be more present and powerful with your clients?

The Foundations Workshop, “The Power of Coaching at the Narrative Level,” provides the essentials of how stories work, the links between stories and identity/behavior, and how to work with the narrative material in sessions to accelerate the client’s awareness, development and movement. Three more foundational workshops are scheduled for Australia in 2008 and we anticipate being able to offer one in New Zealand and one in Canada this year. If all goes well, we will offer a five-day advanced program in late 2008 and start our one-year certification/mastermind program in early 2009.

I offer this space on our site for you to tell us what you’d most like to know or be able to do as a result of learning about narrative coaching. What would you most want from our workshop if you came? Even if we can’t address it in the workshop, I would be happy to dialog with you about your interest and point you in directions where you can find the resources you seek.

Click on the “Share Your Comment” link at the bottom of this post and let us know what you think.

It’s a contest!
As we launch this new site, we’d love to get your feedback. Therefore, we are running a CONTEST between now and March 31st. One person’s comments will be chosen at random and that person will receive an autographed copy of the new book I edited with Diane Brennan and Kim Gørtz, “The Philosophy and Practice of Coaching” (www.practiceofcoaching.com).

SEND US YOUR COMMENTS by replying to this post. We are particularly interested in two questions (though we will welcome them all):

1. What are your first impressions of the site (feel, tone, message, impact, etc.)? What would make it better in terms of its design (usability, visual appeal, readability, navigation)?
2. What else would you like to know about narrative coaching and/or about our work?

When the contest is completed, I will share the top comments—and the changes we made as a result—as well as announce the winner.
Let me close with a story about the importance of aligning our actions with our intentions. It is also a great example of the power of the shadow to crop up in unexpected places. It seemed fitting for this query about the alignment of our goals for this site with how it is experienced by you.

The young couple, committed to justice work and a simple lifestyle, were walking up the dusty trail to Chimney Rock. Her thoughts included an uncertainty on what shadow work meant for her in her life as a mother, spouse and activist; his thoughts included a disdain for people’s preoccupation with status and symbols. Part way up the trail their thoughts intersected in an unintended fashion.

He was wearing a pair of sneakers that had been given to him. Even though they bore a famous brand name, he had begrudgingly kept them because they were a gift. As she walked along behind him on the trail, she looked down to see that he was stamping the word “Reebok” in the dust with every step he took. The irony was not lost on her—he had become a walking advertisement for a value he did not consciously hold. Like a Zen student who suddenly awakens to the meaning of a koan, she knew at that moment what the shadow was all about.