Launch of the LCN Public Narrative Coach Training Program
This summer LCN launched our first ever Public Narrative Coach Training program! Through the program, 30 participants dove deep into the craft of Public Narrative Coaching, emerging with confidence and skill to coach powerful stories of Self, Us, and Now. Participants say this program has created “an enhanced sense of calling in the work I’m doing,” has offered “technical skills and toolkits, but also deeper faith in seeing myself as a coach” and a “global community of people who shared an incredible journey of growth, challenge, and hope.”
The inaugural cohort was comprised of 30 leading activists, educators and organizers from 12 countries around the world, including 65% BIPOC participants. This diverse group developed the heart and skill of the craft of Public Narrative coaching, and deepened their own stories along the way. LCN is thrilled to cascade Public Narrative throughout values-based organizations to superpower their change-making through the development of these powerful coaches.
This pilot program was led by Rosi Greenberg (Lead Trainer) and Noa Yammer (Program Manager), along with an amazing and global team of passionate meta-coaches who guided participants on their coaching journey: Tanvi Girotra, Sadie Dean, Jake Waxman, Andy Ornelas, and Noor Masood. The team was supported by Sakher Mahmoud (Tech Coordinator) and Mariana Garza (LCN Administration).
Over the course of 7 weeks in August-September, our cohort met once a week for an intensive online training course. In each session, participants learned tools for coaching each piece of the Public Narrative framework: Story of Self, Story of Us, Story of Now, and Linking. A key component of the learning was our small group practice, where groups of 6 participants met with a meta-coach each week, and built a community of practice and learning. Participants also met weekly for a separate peer-coaching session.
After six weeks of learning and practice, the new coaches got to try out their skills in real time in the annual Harvard Kennedy School Public Narrative Weekend Workshop, where they held and coached a small group of Harvard students.
This combination of peer-coaching, real-world practice, and communal support came together to create an impactful experience where we built a brave, connected learning space in which participants grew powerfully in their leadership. We are thrilled to see our participants continuing to engage and support one another even after the program completed in September, as they each continue to do work in their own communities and organizations. Many have already started sharing their learning with their own teams, including offering trainings and coaching in Turkey and Jordan over the past few weeks.
Participants have called the program “totally transformational,” and “life-changing,” saying that “I joined the programme at a time when I had fallen out of love with organising and 7 weeks later, you have really helped me to reconnect with my values and calling.”
“This Public Narrative Community that we have, in my experience as a black Australian woman, is the first time I have ever felt not only safe but brave in a community of people who do not look like me. So I just want to acknowledge, this is unique what we have right here. You don’t find this in many places in the world.” -Katrina Johnson, Goorgeng Gooreng living on Waccamaw Siouan Lands, PNCTP participant, United States.
“A classmate, Jose Luis Marantes, said it more beautifully than I ever could: “I entered thinking I’m helping people polish 2 min stories, and left realizing I can coach leaders to unlock their truth and lend voice to their deepest values to lead.” This has truly been even more rewarding, moving, and beautifully challenging than I imagined. There is more personal development (not only on my own public narrative) than I thought would be part of a course on coaching OTHERS on their leadership. This is so much more than a course -it is personal growth, joining a global powerful, empathetic community, and an emotional ride.” -Ru’a Al-Abweh, Jordan
“I am so so over Zoom in so many ways and honestly didn’t think this level both of deep learning and also deep global community building was possible to do 100% virtually, but you all/we did it!” -Nada Zohdy, United States
We are excited about all the emerging opportunities for this global cohort to use their craft to create an impact in their organizations and communities! Stay tuned for how you can join next years’ cohort, or email us to be placed on an early notification list!
