This post is again about the fundamentals of learning – the use of images. I came across the above image on ‘Moneyball of Leadership” video by Charlie Kim. Charlie used it to illustrate his speech on how poor execution can kill even brilliant strategy
When I saw this image, an intervention jumps into my mind. Imagine yourself an intact team sitting in a room. After some check-in, show the image with some silence. Depending on the intended topic of reflection / conversation (without restraining other things to emerge), we can ask the following questions:
Revealing the problem
- ‘What do you see in the picture?’
- ‘How would you feel if you are the painter’s supervisor?’
- ‘In what occasion at work you experienced the similar?’
- ‘What was the impact to the work performance?’
- ‘What possibly caused such problem?’
Sharing practices
- ‘How did you / the others tackle the situation?’
- ‘What worked? What did not?’
Encouraging self evaluation
- ‘What was possibly in the painter’s mind when he / she did this? Craft a line to describe the voice in his / her head, like those in a comic book.’
- Put all those lines on a flipchart, and then ask ‘Share with your learning partner here an occasion where one of those voices once shows up in your own heads’
- ‘How did you feel at that time?’
- ‘If your mind changed at that time, what triggered such change?’
With relevant set-up and questions, one single image can provoke powerful reflection and learning conversation.