Shifting Stories

Book excerpt: Shifting Stories explores the power of stories in organisational life and will help you take a new approach to: Helping people who feel stuck Energising individuals who wish to change Getting teams to work more effectively Resolving interpersonal problems Helping people through organisational change Dealing with conflict Working on yourself Written in three sections, What’s the Big Idea?, The ManyStory Approach in Practice, and Concluding Thoughts, each section works towards the reader having a deeper understanding of how to create a better future at work. Section One describes how we all live our lives through story, how problems may arise because of the stories people have created, how we can make stories come true, for good or for ill, and how we can work with stories to achieve better outcomes. Section Two details how we can apply the ManyStory Approach, with case studies exploring coaching, teamwork, leading change, and resolving conflict. Section Three consolidates the ideas of the book, looking firstly at the few occasions when this approach hasn’t worked and what we can learn from that. This section also looks to the future and invites readers to share their experiences. Shifting Stories will be of strong interest to trainers, coaches, change agents, and leaders who seek to help individuals and teams to be more effective at work.