Kare Anderson Coaches Leaders to Get from "Me to We"
Kare Anderson has been a leader in communication in virtually every medium there is for over 30 years. She is an Emmy-winning former Wall Street Journal and NBC reporter, the author of a number of books about conflict resolution and collaboration in business, and publishes the online newsletters Moving from Me to We and Say it Better.
Kare’s most powerful communications though, come through in her coaching. She has led issue teams for the Obama 2008 campaign, advised CEOs, professional athletes, and cause advocates. All seek to have their story heard in highly competitive environments.
When we met recently, I immediately knew I’d like to interview Kare about how she uses narrative in her practice. In our few minutes on the phone last week, she offered concise wisdom and specific strategies for using collaborative techniques to achieve preferred outcomes—no small feat in a complex, noisy world.
AZ: How does storytelling and narrative play a role in your coaching?
KA: For me one of the most difficult things is that people instinctively talk about themselves. When they’re standing on the stage talking to their employees, they talk about their company; they don’t talk about what’s in it for the employees. Many times when people are trying to tell their story they miss the biggest part, which is to construct it so it’s a purposeful narrative-so that the listener can see a role for themselves, want to jump in, retell it and play a role in it. When I think about storytelling, it is to understand what a person most stands for, what they want to get across and how they can authentically discuss it with someone elsewhere that person wants to jump in. The instinct is for people to ask a question and revert it back to themselves. Even when they want something from someone else. Continue reading