Work 1:1 with Jordan Bower
Storytelling Coach for Leaders
Get leadership storytelling coaching from Jordan and develop your natural ability to lead with 🧠 and 💗
Introducing Business Storytelling Coach, Jordan Bower
In more than a decade working with nearly 200 companies, 1000s of professionals and dozens of executives, founders, creatives and other leaders, I have seen first hand how the business communications landscape is changing.
Ten years ago, my clients wanted help with presentations, brands, and fixed, polished stories like elevator pitches.
Today, the leadership storytelling focus has shifted. Professionals and organizations everywhere are seeking new ways to be heard above the noise. There’s a million tools. ChatGPT. And a ton of turmoil.
We all need to find new ways to make our messages resonate in a world that can feel out of control.
All that turmoil in the backdrop has changed what it means to be a leadership storyteller.
It used to be that leaders were these inaccessible figures who might tell just the same story for a whole year—or a career. Today, leaders need to think and act as storytellers—every day, across platforms, and all of the time.
Storytelling today is about a different suite of leadership skills. Creativity. Connection. The ability to change. The courage to face uncertainty. The willingness to be vulnerable. These are just some of the skills that I’d be honored to help you develop.
Today, business, personal, and emotional success all depends on how you tell your story. So. What’s yours?
“It’s not just that Jordan challenges me. It’s how he challenges me. He makes me feel safe, and he also pushes me to go someplace new.”
— CEO of a 12,000 person Health Care company
Storytelling improves all the ways we communicate
Your confidence in front of groups, like stakeholders, clients and friends
How you structure your ideas into narratives that outsiders can follow and learn from
How you make genuine connections that will resonate, motivate and inspire
A Storyteller’s Superpowers:
Creating connection
Making ideas memorable
Avoiding boredom
How I Think About Being a Storytelling Coach for Leaders
Leadership storytelling is about much more than “how to tell a story”.
Storytelling is an art form. It requires a certain ability. As a storyteller, it’s your job to put things in a format that others can follow.
On one hand, good storytelling requires a thoughtful structure, detailed analysis/understanding of an audience, and a clearly defined and strategic intent.
On the other hand, storytelling is about expressing something of yourself and forming a bridge of connection.
I approach every coaching engagement as a creative journey. That means, among other things, that I do not lead you through a pre-defined curriculum.
As compelling as it might seem to learn things like 4-step storytelling structures and other cute storytelling tips, tricks and Hero’s Journeys, the reality is that theory alone is a terrible storyteller.
As your storytelling coach, I see it is as my job to help you connect to that thing inside of you that makes other people want to listen.
I didn’t learn my job at school. (There’s no fancy college program for becoming a storytelling coach—I checked.) Through great fortune, great teachers, and dedicated practice, I have developed this remarkable skill.
This transformative journey has been deeply fulfilling for me. I hope it will be the same for you. It would be my honor to explore walking alongside of you.
Who I Coach in Leadership Storytelling:
CEOs and senior executives who are seeking to inspire their teams, get buy-in for their strategies, and use their creativity to redefine their industries
Founders, writers, coaches, and consultants who want to level up how their express their ideas and their impact/value
High-potential leaders who want to shift their business communications style—moving from communicating numbers to communicating vision and meaning
Speakers, creatives and organizers who want to improve their ability to galvanize their networks and motivate people towards an innovative future
People in transition who are ready to redefine their narrative—stepping confidently and creatively into personal and professional change
Where My Storytelling Coach Expertise Comes From
I decided young that I was a storyteller. From the age of 17, I took every opportunity I could to travel the world. I took odd jobs. I met a lot of strangers. I learned pretty quickly how to tell stories that connect.
Eventually, as I neared my 30s, storytelling became my quest. I decided I was going to be an influencer. Instagram wasn’t even a thing. I was three years ahead of my time.
I began to learn everything I could about storytelling—so I could, predictably, tell a good story about myself. I was shocked to learn that doing so would change me.
This transformational experience became a habit. By some strange combination of curiosity, passion and fate, I find it exceptionally fun to go to transformational places. It’s a very strange thing when you think about it. Conferences. Amateur sporting event. Religious pilgrimage sites. Burning Man.
Somewhere along the line I got good at it. 🤷🏻♂️
Around 2013, I started exploring how I could be a storyteller professionally. Everyone I knew thought I was nuts.
For a little while, I was a digital marketing consultant, and I had an urge to lead workshops. One thing led to another.
One day, out of the blue, in 2015, I got an email from something called the Future of Storytelling Festival. It was a thought leadership event being held in New York. Al Gore was giving the keynote. So was the guy who was the lead animator at Disney for Little Mermaid. (Edward Snowden Skyped in from Russian exile.)
It was my big break. I shook hands with Margaret Atwood. In the process, I started carrying myself differently. I began to tell a different story.
By 2017, I was traveling again. Storytelling workshops all around the world, working with one Fortune 500 company after another. I worked with executive teams, sales teams, marketing teams… business people who wanted to communicate more effectively. This was a long way from being an influencer, but it became my business, and over time, I got pretty good.
Then, during the pandemic, my business crashed. I was down 75% of my revenue instantly. Eventually, I realized that I was being called to change—again. This mid-life reinvention was much harder.
Everything I have learned from these experiences and many others is invested in my work with my clients.
What I Coach People On
Build confidence, skills and a leadership storyteller’s wisdom
Tell better stories:
An upcoming speech, such as a TED talk or a conference
An important presentation, such as an investor pitch or a town hall
In your digital/social media content
As part of an article or a book
Your personal stories
Overcome obstacles:
Creating engagement
Building suspense
Connecting authentically
Nerves and discomfort
Balancing the professional and personal
Getting out of the weeds.
Design strategic narratives:
Finding your company purpose
Simplifying complexity
Putting context around transition and change
Developing new vision
Leading change effectively
Your creative expression
How My Process Works as a Storytelling Coach
I may teach you a little theory. But in all likelihood, we won’t spend much time talking about Hero’s Journeys.
Instead, I see myself as your creative dance partner 🕺🏻. I want to help you get the rhythm of storytelling by treating it as a practice. An art.
As your coach, I dance with you. We trade ideas. We discuss things from different perspectives. I make suggestions about where I think you’re stuck.
With time, you become more confident.
This approach may seem uncomfortable at first. Thinking back to college, you might think you would learn more by watching a video or listening to a lecture.
But, as you well know, you can’t learn to shoot a basketball like Steph Curry by watching a video about it. And no one becomes a storyteller by theory alone.
The truth is—as I’m sure you already know—we all are storytellers. Storytelling is this thing we all do inside of ourselves. If you were born a human, then storytelling is your birthright.
Gradually, as we dance together, you will figure out the rhythm. You will get the hang of it. You will remember how to do what you knew how to do all along.
Then, you’ll learn all those things that people said to you in grade school are actually true. It is how you say it. How you listen. And making the story about them.
I see it as my job to help you practice these and other skills—together.
I normally recommend that we start with 5 or 6 sessions. In 5 or 6 hours together, you can get a lot—from storytelling frameworks to recommended resources to new perspectives on the kinds of stories you should tell.
Normally, these introductory sessions are scheduled once every week or two. And, after 5 or 6 weeks, you have a lot to chew on.
Some clients slow down after this time. We might talk every month or once a quarter. Our work together can ebb and flow, depending on what else is happening in your life and what you’re working on. Other clients continue collaborating with me regularly.
It feels very important for me to say that I don’t want to lock my clients in. Book me as much as you want me. If I’m not helping you, feel free to go—you’ll only pay for the time that we worked directly together.
I am very fortunate to count many wonderful people among my clients. I feel hugely humbled by my clients’ trust in me.
What are the benefits of learning to be a storyteller?
People want to listen to you
You keep things simple
You make ideas and data fun
FAQs
Who is my coaching for?
The short version: If you’re reading this right now, it’s likely for you. The longer version: creative and curious humans who want to build their creative skills and reimagine what is possible. Above all else, my clients are committed to the coaching process and bring authenticity and connection to our relationship. I want this to be fun for you, and I want to help you grow.
How long is a coaching engagement?
Generally, I recommend 5-6 coaching sessions as a good start. I’ve found that this is enough time for us to build trust, get deeper and move you to a place where you get demonstrable and tangible results. Often, this is the kick-off to a longer more meaningful relationship. Ultimately, this will depend on your coaching goals—and how deep you want to go down the storytelling rabbit hole.
How often do we meet?
It depends. When I just start working with someone, I like to meet about once a week. This is to help you get into the subject matter and build connection between us. Sometimes, it can be more intensive when you are working on a specific project, like an upcoming speech or presentation. Other clients prefer more space between coaching sessions, checking in every couple week or months. We connect in whatever way will serve you best.
Where do we meet?
Most of my coaching sessions take place over Zoom. I am based in Pacific Time on the West Coast of Canada.
How long is a session?
Coaching sessions typically last 60 minutes, but sometimes go longer depending on your goals.
What’s the investment?
It depends. I have a rack rate that I charge to my corporate clients. I often discount this rate for individuals who are paying out of pocket themselves. In introductory calls, I often ask you about the budget you have in mind and then tailor the program to help you get the best bang for your buck. As a rule of thumb, I would budget between $1500-3000 to start to see the impact.
What is your coaching expertise?
Coaching has always come naturally to me, even though I don’t have any formal coaching training. My approach is based on informal mentorship with many excellent guides. This mentorship has helped me develop my expertise as a storytelling consultant, having worked with nearly 200 companies over the last ten years. My coaching is based on these experiences, as well as the personal reflection that I have done along the way. My style is unique—the best way to experience it is to reach out and have a discussion.
How do you measure results?
At the start of our work together, we define what success looks like for you. Over time, we check in regularly to ensure that we are on track—and to establish how things are changing. Our work often involves course correction, including resetting our metrics of success. Our work together is a creative journey.
What does a typical session look like?
Lots of conversation, deep questions, and a felt sense of connection. I’m a clear, direct communicator, and I will tell you what I really think. I also will trust my intuition to guide you towards the areas you might need to explore. The best way to get to know what I do is to experience it for yourself!
How do we get started?
Send me a message here and let’s set up a call to determine whether we’re a good fit.
In summary:
Leadership storytelling is something people can learn.
Storytelling makes people’s ideas more interesting.
You are a person.
(I make bad jokes.)
✅ Learn the craft
✅ Elevate your skills
✅ Shift your perspective
🚀 Work with Jordan to become a creative, strategic, and motivating leadership storyteller
Let’s start a conversation!
I will reply to you personally—normally sometime later today or tomorrow.