Guest post by Dr. Kerryn Griffiths
I have often observed in ReciproCoach supervision groups, a common desire among coaches to be able to ‘get out of the story’ when working with clients. And so when I read Martin Vogel’s “Story Matters: An inquiry into the role of narrative in coaching” in the latest issue of the International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring (Vol. 10, No. 1, February 2012), I couldn’t help but share the learning through this issue of Coaching Research in Practice.
COACHING RESEARCH:
While many coaches focus on facilitating their clients’ creation of new stories, Vogel’s view “is that the greater contribution of the narrative perspective comes through raising clients’ awareness of the stories that shape their perception of reality and helping them come to terms with a more complex and nuanced understanding of their situation” (p. 9). This, he writes, “provides a stronger foundation for action and decision-making, if that is what the client desires. But it may also be an end in itself” (p. 9).
Vogel’s research, generated through interviews with six coaches and the usual lengthy data analysis, highlighted three approaches to the way in which coaches understand the concept of narrative stories and work with these in their practice:
- Story as the task of coaching
- Story as the content of coaching
- Story in the context of coaching
Story as the task of coaching happens when a client comes to coaching with the explicit desire of developing an ability to tell a story for a specific purpose. This is typically needed by the likes of salespeople, business owners and public speakers, who need “an authentic story about themselves which will serve their purposes” (p. 6).
Story as the content of coaching happens when the coaching focuses on developing a new story, particularly one “that will allow the client to construe reality in the most empowering way” (p. 6). Some coaches offer the lens of the Hero’s Journey in this process of ‘reframing’ their story. The idea is that “we can change reality by telling ourselves different stories” (p. 6).
Story in the context of coaching happens when clients’ narratives are used to understand how they make sense of the world, paying “attention to how a narrative emerges in the moment between coach and client” (p. 7). Here, it’s not important that clients develop new stories, but rather that their existing narratives foster self-awareness.
IN PRACTICE:
Vogel warns of the risk of coaches imposing familiar trajectories on clients’ stories and highlights the importance of stepping back to maintain a balance between holding your “awareness of [your] role as a collaborator in the client’s narration while having the self-discipline to stand aside from the story and not be the director of the plot” (p. 7). He reminds us that “narrative is most powerful when allied with a non-directive approach” (p. 10). In the words of one of the coach participants in Vogel’s study:
You as a coach aren’t providing them with a different story … You’re asking them to access what’s in their own experience that’s outside of the framework of story, of their typical story. (JB) (p. 9)
Vogel appears to favour the third approach of using story in the context of coaching, and I have to admit, so do I. He’s also given some very clear recommendations on this process:
- Shift “perspectives by looking at stories from the viewpoints of different characters” (p. 7)
- “Help clients notice the diverse and possibly conflicting narratives in their biography and to question the truth of narratives in which they may be stuck” (p. 7)
- Bring “sensitivity to how the story that is told is itself influenced by the coaching” (p. 7)
What do you do with your clients’ stories? And most important, who of your clients could benefit from your use of any or all of these three story approaches?
If you’d like to read Vogel’s entire paper, you can download it here:
Coaching Research in Practice is delivered free to all ReciproCoaches (including free members) once a month. As a ReciproCoach, you can access all past issues of Coaching Research in Practice via the members area. To see the titles of our issues to date, visit our public website: http://www.reciprocoach.com/coachingresearch.php
Translating coaching research into coaching practice,
Dr Kerryn Griffiths
Global ReciproCoach Coordinator
ReciproCoach: Reciprocal peer coaching, mentoring and supervision
Web: http://www.ReciproCoach.com
Email: coordinator@reciprocoach.com