Most coaching conversations begin with goals. Yet many experienced coaches discover that the real breakthroughs occur somewhere deeper.

Behind every goal sits a story.

It is a story about who the client believes they must be, what they believe is possible, and how they interpret the defining moments of their leadership journey. When those stories are examined and reinterpreted, leaders often discover new choices that no amount of goal-setting could produce.

This interactive Coaching Week session introduces the narrative coaching perspective explored in Edward Temple’s forthcoming book The Leader as Storyteller. The session reframes coaching as story work—helping leaders interpret the defining moments that shape their identity, values, and leadership decisions.

Participants will explore how goals often act as the doorway into a client’s deeper story and learn how to listen for narrative cues that reveal underlying beliefs, assumptions, and identity tensions.

The workshop introduces the CALLing the Moment framework, a practical method for helping clients recognize defining leadership moments and make more intentional leadership choices.

Participants will also examine how emerging AI coaching tools can support the development of coaching capability by providing practice environments for listening, questioning, and evoking awareness.

Participants will leave with practical tools to deepen presence, strengthen narrative listening, and evoke greater awareness in coaching conversations.