Using images to discover leadership
The copyright and credit of the photo remains with the original photographer. If you are the original photographer, please email me at the address below and we’ll gladly link back to you.
WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IMAGE IS?
Yes; objectively, it is a chameleon.
Subjectively, however, this is an image that represents one individual’s idea of leadership.
Here is a bit of background …
USING IMAGES TO ASSESS LEADERSHIP
I use images to assess leadership. I developed this unique approach years ago while I was leading an initiative to build a leadership culture in a global organization. Naturally, I started with qualitative and quantitative research about employees’ perceptions of leadership. But I was searching for a different way of understanding the organization’s leadership. I wanted a deeper assessment of the company’s leaders to enable a dialogue about their leadership that would allow them to say what they really wanted and needed to say — as well as things they didn’t even realize they wanted to say.
At about the same time, I was studying and exploring the theories of Carl Gustav Jung and Depth Psychology, where images and symbols play a great role. I realized that images had the potential to be the leadership development tool I was seeking.
THE POWER OF IMAGES
Images are primordial: they come before words. Jung says that a thought is first formed in our mind as an image and “an image only.”
Babies recognize images before they can talk: if the caretaker smiles, the baby will smile back; if the caretaker shows anger, the baby will likely react by crying. Our ancestors told their stories by painting pictures on cave walls before they had a written language. Many times, we form opinions of people that we meet for the first time just by looking at the image of their face before they utter a word.
Images are part of our conscious and unconscious mind and they carry enormous energy. Consider: how do you feel when you see an image of a gorgeous sunset? A cuddly puppy? A devastated landscape? A horrible struggle? We react to images and through our reactions we release energy – an energy that is transformed into action, sometimes without our awareness.
MY “AHA” MOMENT
I walk a lot: it is how I offer my brain the opportunity to be more creative and to talk to me. It was during a walk along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia that an image of an idea came into my mind: Why not use images to assess the leadership of the organization? Why not use images to call leaders to action?
Convinced of the validity of my hypothesis and the approach, I did it. I developed a model I now call Visiva Leadership® that uses images to assess the leadership.
In this model, I ask each leader to send me an image that to her or him represents leadership. There are no limits in choosing the image, no predetermined number of cards, no parameters. Leaders can go anywhere their imagination and their thoughts take them.
I then conduct an image analysis based on the orientation of Jungian psychology, archetypal pattern analysis, and depth psychology, which all seek to explore the motivations that originate below the surface, as the deep psyche is where stories, inspiration, and imagination come from.
ASTONISHING RESULTS
The results of my early efforts were staggering.
A lot of the leaders found that the exercise really stretched them. This is understandable: after all, it is much easier to answer questions in an online survey – and perhaps search the Internet to see how you can “ace” it – than it is to think about “your personal image of leadership.” To produce their own personal leadership images, the leaders had to dig deep, taking personal accountability for what they thought and exploring their own motivations.
The exercise of identifying a personal leadership image had value in and of itself – but the true gold came when the leaders received the analyses of their images. They were amazed at the insights that came to light and the in-depth conversations the images generated. One leader described the experience as bringing to the surface issues that were “below the waterline,” creating new understanding and offering perspectives that made more meaningful dialogue possible.
PUTTING THE LEADER AT THE CENTER
Using images as I do is about putting the leader in the front and center in a very safe way. It is a novel method of facilitating personalized leadership development. Through images, people can tell their own story: their image serves as a safe personal metaphor.
Intriguingly, the images that emerged as I proceeded through the organizational assessments also produced patterns. For example, the images of leaders who oversaw teams and business units were different from the images selected by first-time leaders and non-managers. More to come on this!
WHY A BLOG?
So why am I writing about images and leadership? Simply put, I want to encourage you to think differently about leadership and leadership development. To enlarge your ideas about what is possible in the realm of understanding your own leadership. To enhance your self-awareness. To stimulate your thinking about what your own image might be and why.
In my blogs, I will share a single image provided by a leader in the past and give you insights into the leader’s context, the meaning of the image, and how the deeper self-awareness was used to create sustainable change.
I have been using Visiva Leadership in my leadership development work for over 10 years now, and I’m as excited about the results and possibilities today as I was the day I started.
I hope you catch that excitement and find yourself reflecting on what lies below the waterline for you!
ABOUT THE CHAMELEON …
At this point, you might ask: What about the chameleon image? What does it mean? Stay tuned; I will share the chameleon image analysis in my next blog!
Please contact me at letizia@letiziaamadinilane.com with your questions or comments!