Many of you have heard
me speak of one of my favorite visual tools for my work with group and teams- Visual Explorer from
Center for Creative Leadership. Consisting of a series of several hundred
vibrant photos, I find myself incorporating it in my work with teams and groups
on at least a monthly basis.
Recently a team coaching partner of mine suggested we try something different
with a team we are working with next month and we both purchased the JICT deck.
I’m so pleased already with this tool - the smaller size, the portability and
also the questions on the back of each of the 76 photos. You can purchase a copy for yourself and the
great CoachingToys.com site
A third visual deck you may wish to explore
is the Points of View: Coaching Game resource. This product has very detailed ways you may wish to incorporate it into your work as a coach, for individuals and also groups.
Of course, you can also develop your own series of photos, or you may wish to get people to create their own drawings or logos (as you see on the slide above).
I continue to find that photos/visuals bring an additional layer into the group and team coaching conversation, and may help some individuals really connect to the coaching process.
So how might you use photos or visuals? Here are five ways I will often
incorporate it into my work:
1. As a warm-up/ icebreaker for the session - Have people
select the photo that best represents what they are coming to the conversation
with.
2. To identify what they bring that is unique to the team or
group - this is actually one of my favorite questions to start work together
with teams. It is always enlightening to see what themes also emerge across the group or team you are working with. Ask the group what synergies they notice.
3. Around Perspectives - As each group member to "select the photo which represents
your perspective around x…"
4. Around Vision - As each group or team member to select the photo which represents your
vision for (this team, your business, your family, your…..)
5. As a closure piece - Ask the group or team members to
select the photo which represents their key
learning, or their next steps, or what’s different about them now.
Some things to keep in mind when you integrate any of these
decks is to provide individuals time to reflect on, and take notes, around what
they see. What’s clear? What’s not?
What’s in focus? What’s missing?
Provide each person
with an opportunity to share this with a partner, small group or larger group.
What I continue to see in my work is that people get great value out of
articulating their thoughts and connections, and also receive tremendous value
in the comments and feedback they get from others. Depending on your group
size, it can be very useful to allocate time to giving people an opportunity to
share.
In your programming
and conversations consider how individuals will
take this image forward, and how you can reconnect them to it throughout
the series of conversations.
In closing, how might
you incorporate visuals into your work with teams and groups? What would this
look like?
With best wishes,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPCC, CPT
Author of From One to Many: Best Practices for Teams and Groups (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Phone: (416)996-TEAM (8326)
Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching
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