What if we could cascade storytelling practices into every organization and community? What if every community was connected deeply to their values?
In August 2023, we launch our second cohort of LCN’s premier training program for Public Narrative participants to become Public Narrative coaches! Over the course of 8 weeks this fall, 36 new coaches will embark on a transformational journey of learning and growth. With intentional scaffolding, small group learning, and in-depth personal feedback from meta-coaches, this unique program creates a powerful sense of community and builds the skills needed to take Public Narrative Coaching into your community. To gain one of these limited spots, read on to find program dates, selection criteria, and application below.
New to Public Narrative? Here’s a great simple article outlining the framework. Through narrative, we harness the power of story to the work of leadership to draw on our values and discover sources of agency and motivation, both personal and collective. Narrative is the discursive process through which individuals, communities, and nations make choices, construct identity, and inspire action.
WHY Coach Public Narrative?
Learning to become a public narrative coach is an intensive and infinitely valuable journey of self-reflection, learning and growth. Coaching Narrative is an act of leadership. Practicing leadership – enabling others to achieve purpose in the face of uncertainty – requires engaging the heart, the head, and the hands: motivation, strategy, and action. Coaches learn to engage their own head, hands, and heart and enable others to employ their own motivation, build strategy, take action and pass it all on. Coaching is at the heart of building courageous and effective leadership – that’s why we consider this course a signature program for LCN.
“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, ’22 course participant.
Not only is it a personal growth experience, new coaches powerfully impact their organizations and communities. Since last year’s program, the thirty 2022 program participants, who came from 11 countries, have held workshops in their own communities (some in their mother tongue language!), joined paid coaching teams, and brought the craft of narrative into their workplaces and teams. Imagine the impact that a local, embedded Public Narrative coach could have on your community.
We’re excited to cascade this even further in 2023 and beyond with our next cohort of 36 new coaches.
The program will be led by Rosi Greenberg, Lead Trainer, and Noa Yammer, Program Manager, and Meta-Coaches Sadie Dean, Noorulain Masood, Aditi Parekh and others who have been teaching and coaching Public Narrative for the past many years.
Participants in this program are at an intermediate level of the Public Narrative craft and include those who have just experienced a workshop, to those who have been through the class or used narrative in their organizing without formal training. We create a global community within our Zoom room, committed to learning, growth, and leadership for ourselves and those we work with.
Details on the 2023 Training:
This program will be run between August 2nd and September 20th, 2023. It comprises eight weekly 2-hour upfront teaching sessions and 1-hour small group practice sessions. Participants will also be coaching in a virtual two-day workshop for Harvard Kennedy School Public Narrative.
Where? ONLINE
When?
The schedule is as follows:
Sat & Sun July 22-23, 2023: Weekend Workshop PN Primer** (8am – 2pm ET both days)
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023: Session 1: Introduction to Coaching Public Narrative
Wednesday, August 9th, 2023: Session 2: Coaching Story of Self & Diagnosis
Wednesday, August 16th, 2023: Session 3: Coaching Story of Us & ‘Soccer’
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023: Session 4: Coaching Story of Now & Authority
Wednesday, August 30th, 2023: Session 5: Coaching Linked Stories & Intervention
Wednesday, September 6th, 2023: Session 6: Authority & Presence
Wednesday, September 13th, 2023: Session 7: Coaching in a Workshop Setting
*Sat & Sun September 17-18, 2023: Harvard Online Weekend Workshop
Wednesday, September 20th, 2023: Session 8: Coaching Challenges, Graduation
*Tentative dates
Session Times: 10am – 12pm EST
One small group session per week will be scheduled at your convenience. Weekly office hours are optional. Attendance at all sessions is mandatory for completion of this training. Total commitment: 4-5 hours per week for eight weeks.
** Please note: The Primer workshop is required for anyone who has taken 1 Public Narrative workshop or fewer, or who took the class more than 5 years ago. The Primer is optional only for those who have taken the Public Narrative or Organizing courses with Marshall Ganz within the past five years or who have been through more than one Full Public Narrative workshop. You will be expected to be well versed in all aspects of the Public Narrative framework (Self, Us, Now and Linking) before starting the full coaching course in August. There is an additional $300 cost to participate in this workshop. It is not included in your program fee.
“At the beginning, I was so nervous to join the calls, tell my story, and coach. By the time the workshop weekend was happening, I felt very confident in my ability to lead. I see how this has even helped me in my role at work. I have grown into that authority at work and am able to be more clear with my voice and role on my team. I can still be nice, but I can also be clear and use my voice.” – Frances Kraft, ‘22 participant
Cost
We offer this program on a sliding scale, with the actual cost per participant at $2000. Some participants pay $500 or receive scholarships. Others pay the full cost and even sponsor seats for others. There is an additional cost for the Primer. We gather our finances together in the community to ensure that learning is available to all. Detailed information is in the application, linked below.
Criteria and selection process: Though we have expanded the capacity of the program due to intense interest last year, we still have limited seats. Participants will be selected based on their Public Narrative experience, clear reasons for wanting to coach (shared through a Story of Self), and their stated intention and ability to impact others through coaching in their organization or community. We are looking for a diverse and global group with different interest areas, racial and economic backgrounds, ability levels, gender identities, mother tongues, and more. All successful applicants will fit within LCN’s stated mission and values, and all participants are required to become LCN members if they are not already.
Application review begins May 15, and the program fills fast.
Application can be accessed here
If you would like to schedule a 15-minute check-in about your individual situation, please email us at pncoach@leadingchangenetwork.org
Last year’s participants shared:
“This course was exceptional… It is so impressive and inspirational how you all have created such a vulnerable, close-knit, and brave space in such a short period of time. I would (and will) recommend this course to everyone I know!” – Sofia Geffen
“THANK YOU! What an exceptionally unique and powerful learning experience, and all over Zoom too! 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! Thank you!” – Nada Zohdy
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. – Ru’a Al-Abweh