I’ve been aware of Lisa for quite a while and mentioned her in a roundup of coaches who use story. She made wonderful contributions to the teleseminar I led last fall on why storytelling is getting so much attention now. I’m thrilled to present her Q&A, which will run for the next five days.
Bio: Lisa Bloom is a highly professional and accomplished Storyteller, Training and Development Specialist and Professional Certified Coach (ICF) with more than 20 years experience working in public and private sectors, high-tech and financial services environments. Lisa has excellent capability in needs analysis, program development and delivery, and project management. She has proven ability in increasing organizational effectiveness through consulting, coaching, and learning and development skills. And she can spin a great yarn!
The real magic, however, has been in combining Lisa’s greatest passions, experience and skills to create Story Coach.
Lisa is presenting a teleseminar, “Success Story Secrets,” Tuesday, April 27 at 2 pm Eastern, offering a chance for coaches to learn all about how to attract clients, build business and increase confidence by finding their success story!
Click here to reserve your spot now on this complimentary call.
Q&A with Lisa Bloom, Question 1:
Q: One thing that distinguishes you from other coaches who use storytelling in their practices is that you offer training to coaches in your techniques. Can you talk a bit about some highlights of training other coaches, as well as how you came up with the “Cinderella and the Coach” metaphor?
A: I love showing coaches how to use storytelling because it’s so instinctive for so many people, it’s like pointing out the obvious, the metaphor that lives in each client and each coach. What I mean is that I believe that we are all storytellers, in that we all tell our life stories all the time. We ‘tell’ how we got to work this morning, where we ate dinner last night and how we feel about Aunt Bertha coming to visit next week! We constantly tell our lives to the people around us. And the telling is completely subjective; we chose the words, we chose the narrative in every way. It’s like two siblings growing up in the same house, they tell a completely different story of their childhoods. What this means is that if we examine our stories, really look closely at what we choose to tell, we can determine whether our stories serve us well or whether they actually create the problems in our lives. So, our stories define our reality. As we examine this reality, we can make changes that help create amazing transformations in life.
Now clearly there are issues and incidents in life that we cannot change. But so often our suffering comes from the way we interpret and live with these unchangeable incidents. Coaching helps us find the tools and resources to change what we can and live better with what we cannot change. Story coaching helps us discover and tell the stories that create the new reality.
What I love about training other coaches is that, as a group, they are a very self-enlightened bunch! Coaches are personal development junkies! So working with them is a treat; their outlook is positive, they believe in the power of change and transformation, they are curious about other people and passionate about helping others achieve more fulfilling lives. Usually coaches love stories! Listening to stories is so much a part of our work, so when I give other coaches the tools and skill-set to really understand storytelling and how powerful it is in the coaching context, it helps their business and life thrive. There is no greater honor or joy for me!
The name, “Cinderella and the Coach — the Power of Storytelling for Coaching Success!” is a play on words (of course) but also immediately focuses on the power of the stories we live with. Everyone knows the Cinderella story, so there is an immediately connection. t is a story of transformation, and story coaching is intensely transformative so it fits the title!