> Barry Mallis wrote on 22 Aug 1996
> Reply to: RE>Storytelling as a Manager Coaching Technique LO9288
> I can't see how any course, workshop, seminar, etc. can be effective without
> story telling. What I mean by "effective" is containing actionable items
> which participants can take away from the session to apply over and over,
> learn from doing, adapt to local colorations.
I agree with this course of action. I have just a few questions to ask and an
experience to relate:
First the questions: who is telling the stories? to whom? where and what are the
stories about? Are they real life stories or are they made up stories?
Next my experience: In 1989, I worked in a small team of managers in charge of
developing a new set of human resource policies and tactics for my company. We
were losing lots of money and were undertaking a massive restructuring program
involving merging different companies (former competitors) into one and heavy
lay offs.
We set up clubs of line managers that were to meet about once every other month
for a year and half all over the country. These clubs were to follow rather
tight rules, but the main point was that club members were to tell real life
stories, ie to exchange experiences, tools and techniques in HR practice and
management.
IMO some keys to the success of such story telling were:
managers talked to their peers, in a direct and frank manner,
they talked about what *they* thought were their problems,
they shared what B. Mallis called "actionable items' not the latest
management fads or whatever I (or my colleagues) thought they ought to share and
practice,
they had two goals in taking time to participate in the clubs: to have
fun with their colleagues and to prepare a presentation to the company top brass
where they "sold" their best ideas and results to the company top management at
the end of the clubs life.
We have done that several times since then with great success.
This has led me to think that one of the reasons why top managers don't change
(besides the many points that were made in posts on that thread couple months
ago) is that they feel they have some responsibility to the people they are in
charge of and that there is no reason to blindly follow some management
consultant or trainer. With the club system, a factory director knew that some
of his managers had direct knowledge of practices that worked and had a network
of fellow managers to help out if the need arose. Thus he (sorry we do not have
a woman factory director yet) was reluctant to embark on a new course of action.
--Daniel Atlan 101473.3570 @compuserve.com