Case Study: How Narrative Coaching tools & methods improved communication & deepened connections within Westpac Bank employees

Background

Through a partnership with one of the top business schools in the country, I developed two leadership programs for Westpac bank. One of these programs was on how to communicate with influence. After delivering this program to several cohorts of leaders, we were approached by the CFO of the bank to offer a version of this program for the finance team leaders. He wanted his team to have more strategic and leadership impact within the bank. He recognized that one of the most important changes they needed to make was to communicate important information in ways that were more compelling and actionable. It often boiled down to far too many slides and far too much data.

Solution

We re-designed the two-day program such that it was one-day session followed by a half-day session six weeks later. This allowed them to move through their busy season, but also to practice what they had learned between the sessions. We used the Narrative Coaching framework to design the program. This was possible because the four phases of the framework reflect the four phases of change, the four phases of development and the four phases of a narrative. This means that they would be changing how they saw themselves as leaders and communicators and developing themselves to be able to do this well in the process of creating presentations as narratives.

The CFO agreed to back us in our requirement that the participants had to bring a real document they were going to present within the next two weeks to the workshop. He did so because he could see a more direct line to the results he needed. This would enable us to see exactly what each person needed to be successful and enable him to have immediate evidence as to how well they individually and collectively did.

Another requirement was that no matter how many slides a leader’s deck contained when they came in, they could leave with only four. At first, they protested that this was impossible. However, we offered them the Narrative Coaching model, with each of its four phases as an Act in the narrative they were creating. These are seen as: What is, What If, What Matters and What Works. We also used our iMap tool to ensure that their presentations addressed the four key variables:

(1) insight (what unique meaning and value can I add to this situation?)

(2) Message (what are my one or two key points? what is the best way to deliver them?)

(3) Audience (who are they? how will people hear my message? what do they need?)

(4) Purpose (what do I want people to do as a result? for what outcomes?).

The second session focused on reviewing the results from their initial presentations and then using this frame to create a two-minute presentation a change they wanted to see happen in the bank. It culminated in the four group CFOs coming into the room to hear their leaders make their pitch. The impact was stunning. As one of the CFOs said, “If we could talk like this more often, it would utterly transform our bank.”

Results

By end of that first day, every leader left with their own four-slide deck as well as new skills and confidence to present this way. They also gained a deeper connection to their colleagues through working together and a greater willingness to be visible as beginners in front of each other. Taking a narrative coaching approach to the workshop meant that by reducing our lectures we could give each leader more individualized attention. They each used their new slide and skills to deliver their scheduled presentation and they were encouraged to find other opportunities to practice using this frame. This reflects one of the key advantages of narrative coaching: The emphasis on building long-term capabilities in the person not just solving immediate problems.

One of our most significant successes was a woman in the group who was presenting a major grant request for a fiscal literacy program for youth to the bank's foundation that night. She reported when she came back to our follow-up session about six weeks later that she had been successful in securing the entire grant, far exceeding her dreams for what was possible. She attributed her success to the fact that she had completely rewritten her actual speech during the workshop and used the input and feedback to create an approach that was noticeably better than the one she first had.

Insights

• Using a narrative coaching frame to design workshops like this allows you to focus on what is essential and teach skills and offer practical frames while at the same time develop people so they can use them well.
• The program is therefore not measured in terms of the content it contains, but in terms of the contributions it enables. This has an even greater impact when you can focus on one thing at a time—and one with an immediate and important application.

To Learn more…

In partnership with WBECS (World Business & Executive Coach Summit) I recently hosted a number of complimentary Narrative Coach Immersion Training sessions

These sessions have been eye-opening, transformative and insightful - and continue to exceed expectations within our Coaching community.  Incase you missed the sessions, we have made the recording available for a limited period of time.

So if you’re curious to experience Narrative Coaching and discover the holistic, mindful and results-driven way to coach for yourself and with your clients, click the link below to watch the full recording at no cost: https://narrativecoach.com/social/

Author: Dr David Drake founded and runs the Center for Narrative Coaching & Leadership and has studied human dynamics for 30 years – with a particular passion for change and transitions. What this means for David’s clients is that he can help them separate the signal from the noise to focus on what matters most. As an integrative practitioner he draws on a rich academic and consulting background in helping clients understand their own stories and liberate themselves. David has worked on narrative coaching, change and leadership initiatives for 70 organizations, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Google, Nike, PwC, Westpac and the Australian and US Federal governments. He has trained over 10,000 people in 14 countries in his methods and has started a global community of licensed Narrative Design Partners to bring this work to the world in new ways.

If you’re keen to discover how to shift from technique to relationship and from mechanical processes to meaningful interactions guaranteed to enhance your results, then the FREE Narrative Coaching workshop will be absolutely worth your time. Click this link to access the recording before we take it down and make sure you don’t miss out.