Unemployed -
The Power Of Storytelling

Four Different Ways To Tell The Same Story

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The facts:
The female, unmarried employee had worked for 8 years for the same company, finally as Global Key Account Manager. The company had been failing to achieve its growth targets for years. Therefore, it had to reduce personnel costs. Three out of ten colleagues were dismissed and released from work with immediate effect.

This is the story told by a colleague who kept his job:
"It's a pity! We had quite a good co-operation. She did a great job, her numbers were always ok. I did learn quite a lot from her. However, during the last year she was somehow different. The relationship to her boss was somehow stressed. I also felt unhappy about the current situation, however, I instinctively did not let people know; it was not difficult to recognize that something was going on. Currently, we are loosing a lot of good talents. I wouldn't have fired her."

Same story from her supervisor's perspective:
"Do you think that was fun? I had to select three out of ten of my team! I assure you I went through the whole team carefully, one by one. Certainly, I wanted to keep the top performers. On the other hand I had to make some compromises for social reasons. Jeepers creepers, there are heads of families who have to pay the interests for their houses! I really would have loved to keep her, but on the other hand I had the impression that she had been looking out for something new anyway. I am convinced that for her as a single with her qualifications it won't be difficult  to find a new job short-term.

That's the story she told me when we met first:
"Incredible, I am dismissed, I still cannot believe it. After having sacrificed my best years to the company, jetting all around the globe and spending my time in hotel rooms, selling and selling and selling, just to get fired out all of a sudden. Certainly, I saw that the company was in trouble. However, with my numbers I thought I was on the safe side. With hindsight, I am clear about it: My boss is a true macho. If a woman has her own mind, he can't deal with it and tries to get rid of her as soon as he can. He prefers working with men who suck up to him. I can't show up anywhere - unbelievable!"

During our coaching sessions we tried to understand the incident from the context of here biography. Finally, she was able to explain the termination of her employment during a job interview as follows.

The story told during a job interview:
Surely, you want to know why I gave up a well paid job and left a well known company? - You know, I am quite ambitious and I have big plans. I want to become a Head of Marketing & Sales. At university I got the educational