1. Communicating for Success
Contra Costa County
Leadership Academy
February 16, 2017

2. Agenda for Today Welcome Morning Speaker: Dr. Frank Benest
Communicating for Success
Story-telling
LUNCH
Debrief Article: Why should anyone be led by you?
Video of Jim Collins
Values and Presence
Launch Coaching
Team Project Outlines

3. Three Reactors for Today
What resonated
with me?

4. Overview Communication for success--premises & key questions
Exercise—Framing a controversial issue
Template—Developing
communication plan for a
controversial issue
Story-telling—why, key elements, story structure

5. Overview (con’t)
Exercise—Enhancing your technical presentation with personal experience
Tips for improving your story-telling
Resources
Critique of Frank’s performance
as a communicator

6. Steve Jobs Commencement Speech
What were key messages?
What was Jobs’ “crucible” experience?
How do we critique Jobs as communicator?

7. Prep for Your Story
Identify topic of a staff or professional presentation
Write down 3 brief bullets of technical info
Think of a relevant personal experience that you can share

8. Critiquing Frank’s Performance
At end of session, critique Frank’s performance as communicator
What has Frank done well in engaging participants & incorporating interactive approaches?
What has Frank not done so well?
How can Frank improve
the session?

9. Communicating for Success
Premises:
Ability to communicate in different ways is key to success as leader
Successful communicators understand their target audiences & their needs
Providing data is necessary
but insufficient

10. Communicating for Success
Premises:
Successful communications is related to engaging others & developing positive relationships
Story-telling is most powerful way to communicate
Effective communication is
well-planned

11. Communicating for Success
Key Questions:
1. Who’s the target audience?
2. Have you first developed rapport
with key members of the target audience?
3. Have you created a state of readiness?
4. What is your goal in the communication?
5. What are the values, goals or concerns of the target audience? How do you find out?

12. Communicating for Success
6. What is the “frame”
given the target audience?
7. Have you “enlarged” the problem?
8. Do you refer to the Board’s
priorities, goals, or previous direction?
9. Have you used simple
and appropriate language?

13. Communicating for Success
10. Do you provide data?
11. Have you incorporated compelling story & humanized the issue?
12. Do you acknowledge & respond
to problems or concerns?
13. Have you communicated in
different ways & reiterated the key messages?

14. Day Workers in Brea

15. Day Workers in Brea Redeveloping downtown was #1 priority
Day workers congregating in downtown
Council wanted to use police enforcement
Organized diverse staff team
Proposed Job Center
Reactions?

16. Day Workers in Brea
Initiated series of conversations with stakeholders
Identified issues & concerns & addressed them
Framed issue differently for different groups
Built support
Frank presented proposal to
Council; Pilot Job Center was
approved on 3-2 vote

17. What’s the Frame?
How do we frame issue of “Job Center for Day Workers” for different groups?
Merchants
Day workers
Police
Faith-based community
City Council
What’s primary frame? What’s secondary frame?

18. Seeking “Buy-In”

19. Developing Strategic Communications Plan
Share in pairs
Focus on Q’s #1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10
You present plan
Your partner probes
Share in large group
Relationship-building
Framing
Problems or concerns to address

20. The Power of Story-Telling

21. “The Impossible Dream”

22. “The Impossible Dream”

23. Impact of Story Putting a human face on issue
Story creates “stickiness”
“We can make the impossible dream come true!”
The phrase that pays
Leaders help others share
their stories

24. Good News! Everyone is a story-teller
Story-telling is an acquired skill that can be enhanced by practice & self-critique
It’s fun?!

25. Story-Telling
From ancient times, all communities have used stories to enchant, entertain, instruct, perpetuate core values & preserve wisdom

26. Why Stories? We’re overwhelmed with data Stories are memorable
They often teach a core truth
They help us make sense of the world—
Where we’ve been
What we’ve learned
What we want to be
or create

27. Why Stories? Stories are powerful because they. . .
Provide a clear message
Capture hearts as well as minds
Help create commitment

28. Powerful Stories Personal Relevant to topic
People can relate to protagonist or situation
Involves problem, misstep, misfortune
Audience develops “rooting interest”
Story builds to conclusion
Lessons to be learned
Strong point of view (POV)
Call to action

29. Kurt Vonnegut
“The Shapes of Stories”

30. Story Structure Three Acts Introduction of main character facing
obstacles or challenge
Action
“Happy” conclusion,
triumph, or ending with lesson

31. Creating a First Draft Story
Topic
3 bullet points of technical info
A relevant experience from your life or someone else’s

32. Example Topic: Customer Service 3 technical points
1. Customer service is not just about the technical aspects of delivering the service but also about the human interaction.
2. Customers will tell twice as many friends & colleagues about a poor service experience than good service.
3. Customer service will make or break the organization’s brand.
My experience at Palomar Winery

33. “Your First-Draft Story”
By yourself, draft personal experience or “story”
Go to worksheet “Enhancing Your Technical Presentation By Sharing an Experience”
Start with the conclusion or lesson
Outline a few key points of
experience
Eliminate non-essential “fluff”
In pairs, share the topic,
3 bullet points, & brief story (based on outline) & receive feedback on story

34. Sampling of Stories A few mini-stories Feedback What worked well?
What are suggestions to enhance story?

35. Finding Potential Stories
Pulling stories from your experience
Reflect upon your personal history & identify possible stories
Ask questions about experience & explore experience for possible relevance
Identify conclusions or lessons

36. Finding/Refining Stories
Other sources of stories
Reading
Talking to others
Incorporate a strong POV
Streamline story so it’s “tight” &
leads to conclusions/lessons

37. Extracting Conclusions
Two choices
Presenter makes conclusions
or identifies lessons
Audience critiques experience & suggests lessons
Describe experience in sufficient detail but do not make explicit conclusions or lessons
Presenter can add anything missed

38. Story Prompts Purposes Go to handout for list of prompts
Other prompts?

39. Enhancing Your Story-Telling
Be on look-out for experiences that could become a “story”
Be aware of stories told by
others & critique them
Outline sequence of story
elements but don’t fully write out or memorize;
story must feel natural (“cocktail story” model)

40. Enhancing Your Story-Telling
Practice your stories in comfortable & “safe” environment (try out your material)
De-brief your stories & refine them
Start a “story file”
Use stories at beginnings
of staff meetings

41. Final Tips Show vulnerability (“my worst experience”)
Use gestures or body language as well as voice as story-telling tools
Integrate a prop

42. Follow Up
Incorporate a personal story into your next presentation or announcement
Practice
De-brief experience with
someone

43. Story-Telling Resources
ICMA Coaching Program webinar “Storytelling To Promote Positive Solutions” (Oct 29, 2014)
Go to “Agendas & Archives” at
“How To Tell a Good Story,” Kristi Hedges, forbes.com, Dec 11, 2013
“Using Stories to Persuade,” John
Baldoni, hbr.org, March 24, 2011

44. Other Resources ICMA Coaching Program www. icma.org/coaching Webinars
Frank’s Career Compass columns
“Making Presentations Like a Pro”
One-to-one coaching (“Coaches Gallery”)

45. Critique Frank’s Story-Telling
What did Frank do well, especially related to telling stories & engaging you in the material?
What didn’t Frank do so well?
What can we learn from his effort?

46. Article: Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?
Leaders must be authentically true to themselves, unafraid to express both their strengths and their weaknesses
Hierarchy is neither necessary or sufficient to create a leader
Great leaders tell great stories to motivate their followers; logical analysis does not excite people
There are no leaders without followers; leadership depends upon relationships

47. Interview with Jim Collins

48. Values Clarification Shift us into ECO mindset Support in Crucible
Values define our
Leadership Presence

49. Support in the Crucible

50. Jennifer Crocker, Ohio State University Department of Psychology
Research into 2 mindsets
And their impacts on one’s:
Ability to learn
Adaptive Leadership
Goal Achievement
Self-Regulation
Social Networks/Friendships
Ability to Connect with Others

51. Two Mindsets
Egosystem
Ecosystem

52. EGOsystem ECOsystem To get what I want
To receive praise and admiration
To show people that I am right or good enough
For others to recognize how smart, generous, talented, etc., I am
To avoid failure or looking bad
To make a contribution
To take advantage of my strengths
To help, support, and inspire others
To be part of a successful team or meaningful community
To avoid doing harm

53. Have you Experienced Leadership from the Ego and Eco systems?
EGO-Based Leadership
ECO-Based Leadership

54. EGOsystem ECOsystem Fight or Flight SELF
Focus on their own needs and desires
View relationship between the self & others as competitive or zero-sum gain
Prioritize their own perceived needs over those of others.
Tend and Befriend
GROUP
See themselves as part of a larger whole
View the relationship between the self and others as
non-zero sum
Prioritize the needs of others; see others’ needs as just as important to the well-being of the system as their own

55. SHIFTING mindsets Ego and Eco Goals are
both relatively stable
and in flux
We have the tools to shift mindsets
Writing about your values
shifts your mindset
from the EGO to ECOsystem

56. Kristi Hedges – Power of Presence
Kristi’s Story
What is Presence?
Intentional
Individual
Inspirational
Small town, West Virginia, 1970’s, blue-collar roots
Clear lines between social classes – didn’t mix socially
Pressure to observe your station in life – Who does he think he is?
No malice – just the way it was
Saw that people felt intimidated
Grandmother, 98 pounds - yet she had tremendous stature
She was always impeccably dressed, suit and heels most days
She spoke to everyone, rich or poor, with confidence and dignity
Powerful FORCE in Kristi’s life, she modeled that, and as result, Kristi was instilled in me self-worth, How to talk to anyone as an equal.
As she got put into college prep classes with kids from professional class
At Virginia Tech, outstanding senior for Arts and Sciences
Full Scholarship to Purdue, Masters in Power of Communications
Politics helping candidates getting elected
Technology PR firm – millions of dollars, won awards
After 10 years Leadership Coach
PRESENCE Is both her passion and her profession

57. Values = Intentional Presence
Our Values become Our Presence
INTENTIONAL PRESENCE
Understanding how you want to be perceived
communicating in a manner
so that you are perceived as such
General Intention
I want to be innovative, trustworthy and dependable
I value hard work, openness, fairness
Situational Intentions
Supportive and Firm
Inspiring and clarify expectations
Engaged and competent

58. Values = Intentional Presence
“Presence is a neon sign announcing who people are.”
“Trust that intentions change your presence. I see it everyday. You will, too.”
Kristi Hedges

59. Situational Intentions
What do you want your audience
to feel about this exchange?
2. What emotion do you need to embody?
Point Six Point Five Point Four
Point One Point Two Point Three

60. Values Clarification Exercise
Select 5 values that you want to your leadership presence to convey

61. Coaching Element of Academy
What makes it successful?
Your Agencies
Your Coach
You
Each participant is paired with coach
Discussions with coach are confidential
Goals
Enrich overall experience of
participants
Provide career advice & support
Enhance network of participants
Renew & refresh senior managers/coaches
Participants
Schedule sessions with coach
Come prepared
Be open to dialogue & enjoy interaction
Eileen
Orient coaches & participants
Provide resources
Help everyone debrief coaching experience

62. Four Coaching Conversations
Info Interview—before March session
Development Convo--before May session
Third Convo—before July session
Post Academy—Sept./Oct.
Optional
Professional meeting
Additional sessions

63. Informational Interview
Meet with coach by March Academy session
Exchange resumes in advance and develop questions about their career journey
Sample questions?

64. Homework for March16 Homework Strategic Communications Plan
Meet with Coach – Info Interview
Take Myers-Briggs Assessment
Continue work on Team Project

65. My Take-Aways + Reaction Panel
What resonated with me?
What did not resonate with me?
What do I have to add?

66. Feedback on Team Project Outlines