What is a metaphor map?
Metaphor Maps help individuals communicate their point of view of quickly withouit making people defensive. This is a very powerful tool when talking isn't getting the group anywhere.
My job always begins by finding out "what is really going on" in the group.
I have found that fifteen minutes of "drawing pictures" can get a clearer picture than two weeks of expensive anonymous interviews. Even better, the process delivers the "big picture" almost simultaneously to everyone in the group without my interpretation. It is a powerful process.
Some Sample Metahphor Maps
If you want a description of the process check out the article that appeared in the June 1999 Training and Development magazine "Using Art In Training" , or the April, 1999 issue of Government Executive "Dangerous Truths."
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Metaphor Maps - How To
See examples of Metaphor Maps
Metaphor Map Process
Drawing can invoke an altered state --a state that invites reflection. People see things they missed before. Suddenly they see another’s point of view, the bigger picture, and/or the fact that other people want the same things they want. They can see because it is safe. And because a picture is worth a thousand words.
1. Create trust. A group needs to trust you, before they will try this. They will intuitively know this is a self-disclosure process that can be abused. Let them see you are interested in a mutually beneficial discovery process not a manipulation process.
1. Stimulate hope. Talk about what they could accomplish if they really worked together. Reveal a few “truths” of your own.
3. Pre-empt blame and feelings of defensiveness. Describe territorial and negative feelings as natural reactions to stress and uncertainty. Talk about the predictable games that people play when there are too few resources and too many priorities. Make it o.k. to admit to “negative” feelings.
2. Instill confidence with clear directions. Ask them to draw a picture that is a metaphor for their organization – to go at least one level bigger than their day-to-day interactions. Explain that their drawing is going to be a piece of the puzzle that only they can see. Give them lots of ideas for metaphors: bridges, bridges that are ‘out,’ walls, unkempt vs. kept garden, cityscapes with slums, ships, islands, a golf course, whatever. Then let them draw whatever they want without judgment.
3. Make it safe. Make agreements that make this exercise safe for everyone. Agreements on confidentiality, respecting everyone’s point of view. I recommend two rules.
1. Stay within the metaphor.
2. Comment on someone else’s map only with sentences that begin “IF that were my map, what that might mean is…”
4. Give everyone a chance to tell his/her story. Assure them that no one has to share if they don’t want to (if you set it up right, most will want to). Ask the most willing to show their pictures to the group and describe their metaphors without making judgments or naming names. Humor is your ally. There are always funny pictures and lots of giggles. Encourage a sense of fun. Invite questions of clarity only.
7. Let the increased understanding do it’s work. Don’t try to solve dangerous truths and undiscussables in one session. If you rush to solutions they won’t get the benefit of increased understanding. This is the sort of thing that needs time to seep in. Few will admit they “got it.”
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Tornado
 "The progression of a career in leadership"
I keep threatening to write a book titled "Leadershit." This drawing is a great representation of why!
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The Vice
 "Feeling a little pressure, lately?"
"This is me...getting screwed." (long pause) " but it could be any of us really...because when we aren't getting screwed, we are screwing each other."
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P-Boat
 "I'm bailing as fast as I can"
"Our workplace is like a boat that has sprung a leak. We are going down and I'm bailing as fast as I can without much help." Curious, I asked, "Who is the guy on the left?" "That's my boss." Quite innocently I asked, "What is he doing?"
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Old Guard Vs. the Aliens
 "Aliens invade the corporate kingdom"
Fundamental issues separate the old guard and IT, the "aliens." The IT dept is depicted as a UFO behind barbed wire topped by a figure in relaxed pose. The IT guys laughed when they saw this map.
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The Ship
 "Collaboration between Departments"
Two groups, commanded to share resources, turned quickly into two groups rowing in opposite directions. A perplexed director observing the disaster of a ship ripping apart at the seams asks - "what is going on?"
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