Bridging the Past, Present and Future
The stories of an organization are important to fully appreciate for yet another reason: they are critical bridges between the present and past. Organizations exist at the present moment in time. The past life of an organization exists largely in present conversations, i.e., the stories about the past. It also exists in the conversations that are now taking place about past conversations (via archival records). The formal economic records of the organization are based on conversations that take place between people who are of the present and the past. Similarly, the organization’s future is shaped in current conversations about this future. Narratives actually do more than tell stories, they create a framework in which the identity of the organization is perceived and presented. Storytelling is a central ingredient in relationships. Relationships, in turn, become important in the reconstruction of reality—whether this reality be personal or organizational in nature.
Several questions arise from this dynamic constructivism. In what way(s) do the personal and organizational narratives and images influence or alter one another? Is there a shift in the organization’s economic narrative when a new assessment of the organization’s profits and losses is completed, or an announcement is made about results from the yearly audit? How about more indirect influences on the economic statis (and “bottom line’) of an organization. What happens when a new top manager is hired, or the organization itself is restructured? Does the economic narrative change? From the perspective of the professional psychologist, there are major concerns with regard to the nature of narrative and identity that is being conveyed by the organization and the narrative and identity of each employee –and in particular the person receiving professional coaching services
Conclusions
The movement from an objectivist to a constructivist ontology and from a static to a dynamic ontology requires commitment and courage—particularly courage. Our sense of self and reality—our ontological reality—is always in flux. How do we live with this ontological uncertainty? Especially when it involves our “pocketbook” and the potential payment of our child’s college education. What kind of courage is needed to make a negative financial report available to those working in the organization or those expected to invest in the organization? Does a financial VP have the “guts” to prepare a valid report regarding economic challenges that are facing her organization? Wouldn’t it be easier to “adjust” the expenses a bit so that things don’t look so bleak?
Many years ago, the theologian, Paul Tillich (2000), wrote about the existential (and theological) “courage to be”—the courage needed to acknowledge one’s being and one’s becoming in the world. If human beings are minds, and not just brains, then they are also inherently spiritual in nature or at least there are spiritual demands being made on them as they are confronted with the challenging universe in which they live.
As spiritual beings, we have the capacity to reflect on our own experiences and to place these experiences in space and time. This is the human challenge, the human opportunity and the human curse of transcendence. Our sense of a constantly reconstructed universe, based in our interactions with other people, leads us inevitably to a sense of bewilderment. At a more immediate level, we are confronted as leaders and professional coaches with the economic complexity, unpredictability and turbulence of contemporary organizational life (Bergquist, 2025). How does one find the courage to stand in the face of this “awe-full-ness”? And more to the point, what is the role to be played by professional coaches in assisting their clients (as well as facing their own personal challenges)?
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