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ANECDOTE WHITEPAPER

INTRODUCTION

Early on in Anecdote, we did a training-needs assessment for part of the AustralianDefence Force. Our discovery phase involvedtwo teams; one team adopted a structuredinterview technique and the other usedanecdote circles to collect stories.After our first day in the field we met withthe structured interview guys to comparenotes. “On first blush,” they said, “itseems like most things are in order. Theyare adhering to OH&S processes. Sure,there are some areas for improvement butgenerally things are OK.” As they wereproviding this assessment, those of us onthe anecdotes team just looked at eachother in astonishment and replied, “So,you didn’t hear about the soldiers whoare showering in their own urine becausetheir recycling system is broken or hearabout the workshop where everyone wearsprotective footwear because some poorfellow lost his toes in an accident but noone wears protective eyewear becausethey have never had an eye accident?”.We had heard story upon story of majortransgressions that weren’t picked up inthe structured interview approach.This experience confirmed our assessmentthat a narrative approach is great foryielding new, and otherwise hidden,insights. A number of years and manyclients later, we have seen that there issomething even more important narrativetechniques provide: a resolve amongpeople to do something about the situationand a frame for mapping how to do so.Stories provide people with a keenerawareness of their current situation, aclearer vision for their desired state, anda palpable sense for why and how to closethat gap. As a result, a narrative approachto change and continuous improvementenables organisations to better preparethemselves for dealing with today’scomplex challenges and opportunities.

OVERVIEW OF PAPER

This paper describes the approach we takewith clients to successfully foster changein their organisations. It is based on ourdeep knowledge of both complexity andnarratives, and it reﬂects our holisticapproach in working at both systemic andpersonal levels to help organisations andtheir people move forward. Coaching isintegral to our process at each step of theway and to our clients’ success in reachingtheir change and improvement goals. Ourapproach helps leaders and organisationsembrace the need for change, approachit openly, prepare for it fully, and achievethe critical outcomes—whether it be a newtechnology, a turnaround, a new strategyor some other cause.I’m excited to be writing this paper withDr David Drake, a renowned expert onnarrative approaches to coaching insupport of leadership development andcultural change in organisations. In thispaper, we offer a narrative- and coaching-based process framed as

three journeys

based on our experience that the bestsolutions are those that are developed andowned by the people in the organisationand can be embedded in their day-to-day activities. The process is also basedon an analysis of a historical journey ofchange as well as our appreciation forthe contemporary challenges inherent indealing with the complexities of change.

Tree journeys: A narrative approachto successful organisational change

By Shawn Callahanand David B. Drake, PhD*

*Center for NarrativeCoaching, USA

THREE JOURNEYS: A NARRATIVE APPROACH

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A LEGENDARY STORYAS A FRAME FORSUCCESSFUL CHANGE

Our approach to change was inspired bythe story of Lewis and Clark, the intrepidexplorers who made the ﬁrst crossing tothe American West, who forged a trail thatwould lead to the formation of what wenow know as the United States. ThomasJefferson, the third President, knew thatopening up the west coast was critical inthe short-term to understand the natureof what he had just bought (the LouisianaPurchase) and in the long-term for his tradeand political ambitions in fulﬁlling his visionfor the country. Jefferson and MeriwetherLewis pored over maps and journals toform in their minds how the journey mightunfold, what resources might be required,what success would look and feel like,and how they might get the support fromCongress to embark on this adventure. Thiswas the

ﬁrst journey

—as it was conceived inthe minds of the two leaders.Once they got their funding, Lewis and hisco-leader, William Clark, selected andtrained their expedition members in St Louis,Missouri—at that point the westernmostoutpost of the ﬂedgling nation. While there,they gathered the resources and practisedthe skills they imagined would be neededto make the trip.This time of preparation, based on theirinitial knowledge, was the

second journey

.Since much of their journey would takethem into the unknown, their plans reliedon partial information and an earned trustin their leadership skills. In moving fromconcept to plan, Lewis and Clark engagedthe people who would be involved in andaffected by what actually happened. Itwas a time for engaging them in the vision,preparing for what they may encounter,and getting what we now call their ‘buy in’.Then, they embarked on the actual trip,the

third journey

for which they had beenpreparing. The further they travelled upthe Missouri River, the sparser the availableinformation became. One of their biggestsurprises was the scale of the RockyMountains, a range of peaks unlike anythey had seen before. However, for everyunexpected turn of events or what seemedlike an impassable barrier, the expeditionadapted and remained resilient. Theyeventually discovered a path through thesemountains and on to the Columbia River—though it was not the all-water passage tothe west coast they had hoped to ﬁnd. Theﬁrst two journeys not only helped them planand prepare for this expedition, but alsohelped them refocus, regroup and reorientin the face of hardships, errors in judgment,boredom and fatigue, and the like.

Figure 1:

Translatingthe three journeys toa business context

THREE JOURNEYS: A NARRATIVE APPROACH

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The story of the Lewis and Clark expeditionoffers lessons in how organisations canapproach their journeys to bring aboutchange. Like Lewis and Clark, astuteleaders today embark on change withonly a general picture of where they’regoing and the knowledge that they willencounter unimagined difﬁculties andopportunities along the way. As a result,the fate of the change effort often restson how well they prepared themselvesand others. While modern organisationshave better resources with which to work,they too must juggle the needs of multiplestakeholders, the vicissitudes of humannature, the capriciousness of fate, thelimitations of partial maps, the need forhigh-stakes decisions, and more.

THE FIRST JOURNEY

In this ﬁrst stage, leaders in an organisationdevelop a vision of what they would like toachieve and deﬁne this end-state in broadterms. It involves setting the destination,the crusade, and mapping out how to getthere based on the available information—while recognising that detailed plansare unlikely to be achieved at this stage(the world is too unpredictable for asimple, linear view). It is critical to clearlyarticulate the mission, the criteria for success,and the leadership parameters in order tocreate a solid framework for thinking aboutthe venture.

LESSONS FROM LEWIS & CLARK:

• It is important to be clear on sharingthe rewards before there are any• Travelling requires both authorityand freedom/permission• Change requires an organisation toventure into unknown territory; it is asmuch about discovery as it is about design• Every change process has its ‘St. Louis’—a jumping off point into the unknown,a hub for action, and a platform to whichone can return• Often the landscape changes merely asa result of setting out on the journey.In our work with clients on the ﬁrst journey,we gather stories to help the leadersunderstand the current situation and needs,as well as help them to craft stories thatcapture the principles and characteristics ofthe future state they desire. These storieshelp them clarify: (1) Who are we? (2) Whatseems true to us? (3) What matters to us?(4) What are we seeking? We use coachingto draw out people and help them beopen and candid in their assessment,communication and agreements.The focus is on building awareness andharnessing the ambition. The goals atthis stage are to (1) ensure that all of thestories get told such that the organisationhas a clear sense of what is true at thepresent; (2) articulate the new story theorganisation wants to tell about itself;and (3) declare what they want as a resultand how this path will enable them to besuccessful. This stage is about clarifyingthe purpose for the actual adventure.

EXAMPLE: In a client project for a largeprofessional services ﬁrm, David worked withthe business and human capital leaders torecognise the centrality of better support fortheir staff in achieving both the culture andthe results they desired. He did interviewswith forty key stakeholders to get all thestories out about what was happening inthe culture in terms of current coachingpractices. The themes from these storieswere presented to the leadership team. Theywere asked to articulate what a new culturewould look like and what people would bedoing differently if they achieved that vision.David worked with the team to managethe internal politics in order to position theproject for success. The result of this journeywas the envisioning of a map, based on thebest available data, of how the ﬁrm couldachieve the shifts in culture and performancethey were seeking.

The focus is on buildingawareness and harnessingthe ambition.