In the late 1990’s people called their cell phones a leash.  They resented that the office could find them anytime and jerk them back as if they were a dog on a leash.  Now, if you google “cell phone leash” it is something you buy to keep you from losing your cell phone.  Except it’s […]

Drawing a picture of “what it’s like at work” gives people an opportunity to express negative emotions with humor.  When I facilitate this kind of exercise, everyone shares their “metaphor map” in a democratic process.  Some are positive but many people need to process stress, anxiety and frustration.  It is humor that makes this work.

I facilitated dialogue between conservative and gay Christians in the same denomination off and on for two years.  It got ugly at times.  Getting people to come is the hardest part.  (same problem with racial issues) This group was truly inclusive and most of the people there were experts on Bible scripture, citing Chapter and

The woman who drew this was trim, coiffed and perfectly dressed.  Her blond flip hair-do and “had-to-have-been-a-cheerleader” demeanor did not make ANY sense when she present this map to the group.  She said, “This is me. And I do everything I can to protect my people from all the problems and interference that come down

A meeting just like many of the meetings we are forced to attend.  Particularly if you work in a government office or a large company.  The speaker in the middle is duplicated somewhere else with the same archetypes.  Which one are you?  Most reactions to this drawing are “I’ve been all of them at one

Every so often, senior leadership decides that a new system will solve all our problems.  They know there will be a “period of adjustment” but this drawing communicates the emotional costs in a way that is hard to ignore. The minute this metaphor map appeared a room full of fifty people started laughing in recognition.