Metaphors and Wisdom
The April 7 issue of The Economist contained an interesting article on page 91, “Age and wisdom”. It mainly reports on the efforts of Dr. Igor Grossmann from the University of Waterloo Canada to compare accumulated wisdom between different countries and age groups.
The article defines what “psychologists agree” are five crucial aspects of wise reasoning:
1. Awareness that more than one perspective on a problem can exist
2. Recognition of the limits of personal knowledge
3. Appreciation of the fact that things may get worse before they get better
4. Willingness to seek opportunities to resolve conflict
5. Willingness to search for compromise
If those five points are accurate, gaining wisdom may be why participants feel so good at the end of Metaphor Mapping sessions. Map building, particularly in cross-function groups, addresses:
1. The differences in each person’s perspective on a situation. They become clear when made graphically visible in Village Maps.
2. Each person always has at least a nuance of difference from colleagues and sometimes great chasms
3. The incompleteness of any one individual’s knowledge is of a process or activity also is revealed when building Village Maps and leads to requests for colleagues to help
4. Optimists are warned that things can always be worse when they look at “volcanoes” that can change a Village’s environment or— when they look ahead for “crocodiles” on a River branch that could kill their career while they implement improvements
5. The map-building process encourages understanding the views of others, resolving conflicts and compromising when necessary
M4. Metaphor Mapping Mind Meld
Some people have remarked that building their first metaphor map is an astonishing experience:
“I never thought I’d get anything out of working with those guys. We’d been on different sides of most issues for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it was pretty intense. But we got put together in the workshop and right off the bat things changed. The four of us had to build a map of today’s situation and we had some trouble figuring out where to start. The other groups had to build the same map but they looked like they knew what they were doing. We finally got the idea of it and developed a great map we were proud to present. I didn’t realize it at first, but we had agreed on what all the problems were. A bit of tough discussion but in the end we saw things the same way. We didn’t work together on the later maps but we talked at breaks and things are different between us now, better.”
There is most likely a scientific basis for this type reaction. For example, neuroscience is discovering more about how and why human conversation works http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/07/mind-meld-enables-good-conversat.html. Perhaps the shared challenge and its visual nature are a fast path to identity and team building.
Building teams in developing countries
Building understanding, agreeing common goals across functions
Recently, Metaphor Mapping was the core tool used to build cross-sector teams in Morocco, Jordan, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Moldova, Lebanon, Albania, Uganda, Kenya and Philippines.
Meeting sponsors were looking for ways to establish new structures, processes and habits for organization operations – to enable them to develop innovative solutions to address significant change, and to build ownership for joint goals. They needed to build effective teams to address critical priorities.
The workshop sessions addressed an array of specific issues including: developing strategies to improve elements of national security, public safety organization improvement and process optimization. Metaphor Mapping was employed as the workshop vehicle in each case. It represents a new twist on the proven strategy development technique of assessing the current state of a situation, visioning an ideal state and developing an action plan. Its uniqueness is the high degree of openness/authenticity and interaction it provokes, the creativity and ownership it generates through use of visual metaphors and sticker symbols.
In each case, the sponsor’s objectives were met in a single day session. In spite of not having worked closely together before, in each case the groups became highly energized and began developing the emotional bonds that will be the foundation of teamwork during implementation and operation.
Twenty stakeholders agreeing a strategy in a day may seem remarkable, but Metaphor Mapping achieved it hundreds of times in both individual workshops and extensive corporate programs over the past 20 years.
Diverse Teams Address Complex Problems
- Teams worked across disciplines and cultures.
- Some participants had operational positions and others worked at a strategy level.
- Some were decision makers, some middle managers, some senior officers in the military; others were subject matter specialists.
- There were many different work styles and preferences (extravert/ introvert, practical/theoretical, etc.).
- Working languages included English, French, Serbian, Russian and Arabic. Because Metaphor Mapping is a visual method, the participants could work in local languages and the need for interpreters was minimal.
Challenging Issues, Quickly Resolved
The duration of meetings varied depending on the complexity of the situation and degree of polarization of participants. In general they took 90 minutes for each of three steps, and total elapsed time of 6-8 hours to:
1. Define the current state and its weaknesses
2. Develop a vision of the ideal operation
3. Set the strategy.
Participants’ Comments:
“It makes you change your own picture of how things work”
“It would have been good to do this before we argued so much about direction last year”
“A picture is worth a thousand words and a map is worth a million!”
“We’ve done many different exercises, but this was the most interactive”
“Mapping is hard work, even if it looks playful”
“This is stretching for your mind”
“The best part of the strategy session was the mapping. Building the little maps made everybody think and talk.”
Sponsors’ Comments:
“If you want people to get it and feel different, do Mapping. It worked for all of us!” (Aide to a government Minister)
“This is an effective tool. We’ll use it in other planning situations.” (Colonel, Internal Security)
“I will apply this immediately in incident preparation exercises” (Head of transportation safety management)
Photos
Some people have remarked that building their first metaphor map is an astonishing experience:
“I never thought I’d get anything out of working with those guys. We’d been on different sides of most issues for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it was pretty intense. But we got put together in the workshop and right off the bat things changed. The four of us had to build a map of today’s situation and we had some trouble figuring out where to start. The other groups had to build the same map but they looked like they knew what they were doing. We finally got the idea of it and developed a great map we were proud to present. I didn’t realize it at first, but we had agreed on what all the problems were. A bit of tough discussion but in the end we saw things the same way. We didn’t work together on the later maps but we talked at breaks and things are different between us now, better.”
INVENT and TEST SOLUTIONS
When differing perceptions are discussed openly, a shared view of reality emerges
That shared view allows productive analysis of problems. Working together in this way deepens trust and makes it easier to appreciate colleagues’ views of the ideal future. One person builds, or “hitchhikes”, on the ideas of another. The resulting vision is in fact totally shared because each member of the team has contributed.
The eBook Metaphors for Alignment, gives background and examples of the tool’s usage.
MODEL STRATEGY OPTIONS
Strategy typically follows assessment and vision creation
Metaphor Mapping applies the classic three step strategy setting approach: Assess current state, Set vision, Plan actions. It also features a graphic method of assigning responsibilities and a tool for probing attitudes and addressing culture.
A River map is the primary tool for strategy. You construct rivers that flow through time. You identify your target but also note what unintended outcomes are possible. Then, you show the actions needed to overcome any obstacles. Sometimes activity streams converge and sometimes each can run entirely in parallel.
The eBook Metaphors for Alignment, gives background and examples of the tool’s usage.
COMMIT TO ACTION
Commitment to Strategy and Team
When you invest your time and imagination, you become committed to implement your plan. You also become committed to collaborating with colleagues to make your vision a reality. The relationships you form during Mapping sessions last for years and extend the web of teamwork throughout an organization.
Following agreement on the strategy, as shown in a River Map, roles and responsibilities may be specified in detail using the Facecards method.
Shows how Facecards performs the functions of RASCI or Raci IN A MORE IMPACTFUL WAY
The eBook Metaphors for Alignment, gives background and examples of the tool’s usage.
VIRTUAL TEAMS
As teams become virtual and global, coming together for process optimization and strategy setting becomes both more difficult and expensive. Metaphor Mapping’s web-based map-building tool, combined with conferencing tools such as Cisco’s Webex, Citrix’s Go To Meeting and Microsoft’s Lync that allow sharing PC screens enables clear communication across the distance and across cultures.
We are in early days of using this approach to organization effectiveness at a distance and will publish facilitator best practices in the near future.