Pictorial Visioning

Using visual images to work with our hopes for the future can prove very motivational

Passion is strange thing – immensely powerful in its impact, but confusingly subtle in its makeup – and yet for many of us it is the fundamental difference between living life, and simply existing within it.

Psychology has determined that we use different hemispheres of our brain for rational understanding and for emotion. And so, the very concept of understanding passion in any sort of rational way is going to be difficult.

This dichotomy is fine in our personal lives, but can be a problem in our working lives. We recognise the importance of passion to our performance in terms of creativity, perseverance and fulfilment, but so much of our work is about numbers, process and analysis.

The issue becomes most prevalent when we are called to determine a ‘vision’ for our organisation. Visions are intended to inspire, enthuse and engage people – to fire them up. But we often construct them in the form of numbers and logic: Things we can understand, but which generally leave us ‘cold’ or at best ‘luke-warm’.

Using pictorial visioning

Pictorial visioning works on the right-side of the brain. It is a way of engaging people in dialogue about what is on their heart. Rather than what is on their mind. It provides a means to access more of our subconscious. And it also enable us to better communicate that to others in ways that resonate with their hearts.

But before we explain how pictorial visioning works, please let us offer a couple of caveats. Firstly, we are dealing with the right-brain here. Therefore, it is not easily understood in terms of a clear logical rationale. Secondly. please do not expect that what will come out of the exercise will immediately integrate into your existing processes. Rather that the results of the exercise will feed your thinking in a way that will bear fruit.

Steps to develop a pictorial vision

1. Start by thinking about the question your vision will be answering. Perhaps it is: “What will this organisation feel like in 5 years time?” or “What difference will it be making?”, maybe “What do I want to invest the next 5 years of my life in creating?” or any combination of these.
2. Feel free to write the question up large. Or to write different aspects of the question on cards stuck around the room.
3. If possible, pick a sunny day, and pick a seat that gives you a view you can enjoy.  Then gather around you: a large piece of paper (flipchart size); some multi-coloured pens, scissors and glue; pictures and quotes that inspire you for some reason; some uplifting music of your own choosing; and a beverage – ideally extravagant and alcoholic. If smells work for you, throw some of those in too.
4. Then pick up your pen, and begin to DRAW your answer. Only draw.
5. When it is finished, stick it up somewhere.

Further guidance

No matter how poor an artist you consider yourself to be, do not write any text whatsoever – just draw. By all means augment your drawing with a collage of pictures where relevant – but no text. We are seeking to engage the right-brain over a pre-dominant and habitual left brain, and we don’t want to do anything to frighten it away.

Let your right-brain speak through your pen strokes. Suspend all judgement (which is a left-brain activity) and simply see what emerges. Think of it as a gift you are giving your right-brain – some uninterrupted quality time to listen really carefully to yourself. Strive to create an image that represents where you want to be working in 5 years’ time, but don’t be anxious about the outcome: If you draw things that don’t look right, see if you can reinterpret them into something that does. Allow yourself to be take on a journey by what emerges.

There is something about our right-brain and our sub-conscious that sees things that our conscious and our left-brain often overlooks, and this is a way to bring it out.

Living with your pictorial vision

Take time to ponder your rich-picture on occasion. Live in it in your imagination, and see what might be behind things that are not immediately obvious. And then, after a period of time, have a go at another picture.

Over time, you will develop the language that will allow you to integrate your picture into the written vision for your organisation; into phrases which better capture the imagination of those around you.

Though you might not immediately be able to resolve your picture into business decisions, it will quietly influence things, emerging at appropriate times to make connections and encourage insight.

Pictorial visioning as a group exercise

Pictorial visions can also be done as a group exercise, and can be very powerful in creating empathy and relationships within a group. They tend to create a bit of resistance when they are first proposed. Let’s face it, most of us don’t like drawing, especially if we know that others will be looking at what we have drawn.