This picture was drawn by an employee of a large bureaucratic organization. When she lifted it up, there was a hush of recognition in the group. She said “This is me in the vice.  But it could be any of us, really. We are all taking turns. All of these people are just waiting their turn.  When we aren’t on the block getting screwed, we are helping turn the ropes and screwing each other.”  The emotional content of this picture is powerful. Whereas, this group had verbally described their problem as having too much work and not enough support, this picture shows more of the story. It reveals how the group was contributing to their own misery by how they treated each other. [Read more…]

This picture was drawn by an employee of a large bureaucratic organization. When she lifted it up, there was a hush of recognition in the group. She said “This is me in the vice.  But it could be any of us, really. We are all taking turns. All of these people are just waiting their turn.  When we aren’t on the block getting screwed, we are helping turn the ropes and screwing each other.”  The emotional content of this picture is powerful. Whereas, this group had verbally described their problem as having too much work and not enough support, this picture shows more of the story. It reveals how the group was contributing to their own misery by how they treated each other. [Read more…]

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This was drawn by a cross-functional task team in a high tech company where distrust was a big problem. Projects were way behind deadline, blame had eroded working relationships and a dangerous apathy drained employees of enthusiasm. The first two meetings with this group were frustrating – either no one was willing to speak or they flipped into a blaming tirade against management. Yet, when the group abandoned language and turned to image and metaphor, they could suddenly see several sides at the same time. Everyone laid their cards on the table. [Read more…]