Navigate difficult organizational topics with a discussion tool that makes it safe to air risky attitudes and feelings.
THREE SETS of 16 IMAGES: Images of Organizations contains three copies of 16 carefully designed and selected images and a manual of suggested uses. The images have been drawn in an attractive cartoon style to represent a range of experiences and emotions, many of which will be familiar to anyone working in an organization, sitting on a committee or attending regular meetings. The images are all based on descriptions from real people in real organizations .
VARIETY OF EMOTIONS: The images are designed to be metaphors through which individuals and teams can explore organizational issues. The cartoon style is accessible so it allows a "door" to be opened into dialogue that might otherwise be too risky or challenging to be tackled directly. People at all levels within organizations can relate to the images and experiences depicted. As such, the images include a wide variety of strong, negative emotions and positive shared experiences:
Negative
- Frustration
- Confusion
- Isolation
Positive
- Successful achievement of a challenging task
- Satisfaction of working in a skilled and specialized team
- Motivation of working in a competitive and stimulating environment
View Sample Facilitation Questions
APPLICATIONS: Some of the ways the cards can be used:
- Start a conference or training session with an icebreaker. Participants choose an image that means something to them as individuals.
- Gather different perspectives among team members. Are different individuals experiencing very different things at the same time? Is one person's exciting change another's nightmarish upheaval? Two people can look at the same image yet feel/imagine very different possibilities.
- Debrief the end of a team development session.
- Exploring organizational values. Values are more than words, and the use of metaphor can begin to explore what values really mean to people, and deepen their shared understanding.
- Performance appraisals. Managers and subordinates can explore images that might reflect times and activities when things were going well, as those when things were more difficult.
The positive and negative nature of the images allows teams to choose an image to aspire to and an image to avoid.
Idea group size: 6-16. Possible 4-30
Ideal duration: 30 minutes
Set of 48 high quality laminated images. Cards are 5 1/2 inches x 7 1/2 inches housed in a 6 inches x 9 inches box for easy transport.
Includes facilitation notes and questions to prompt conversations.
Images of Organizations is a carefully researched and designed group learning activity from RSVP Design.
