VISUAL LEADERSHIP

  This summer I took a course on graphic facilitation, using imagery to enhance communication and alignment in meetings.  It was fascinating to experience for myself how much the graphics added to my understanding, even of directions for an exercise.  It wasn't about art, it was about intentional and effective communication.

   It took thought and discipline to use images (which still might contain a few words) that conveyed complex concepts or events. You didn't have the luxury of lots of words or sentences to get to the point.  You had to have extreme clarity about what you wanted to convey and distill the meaning to its most important elements.  The structure required made me a better communicator. 

   The imagery also allowed for testing alignment among us.  Asking if everyone agreed that this or that image was the right icon or symbol tested the nuances of our understanding.  We immediately saw how we were interpreting concepts differently. And images helped us capture ideas.

   There are three lessons here for creating clarity,  One is the discipline of figuring out in advance what you want to convey, what's most important for people to know and remember.   

     The second is checking to be sure people got it. Asking if people understand isn't enough, because when they nod their heads you won't know what picture is in their head of what you said.  You need to get them to explain their understanding.

     The third is the "harvesting" of the ideas or decisions - culling out the main ideas or points that have been discussed or agreed upon.

     I've been testing using structured images for agendas, for note-taking, even in my own journals. Here's an example of an agenda template, courtesy of one of our leaders, Nanna Frank, of Denmark (the other was Sky Freyss-Cole).  For those interested, the program will be offered again next year at the Gestalt International Study Center in Wellfleet.