3 ways leaders can use visuals as a catalyst for change

The definition of done (DoD) is a collection of deliverables within a project or contract that, when completed, will act as verifiable and demonstrable benchmarks for a project. In short, it’s a list of deliverables and a shared understanding of expectations on the requirements the team must meet before releasing a product to users. 

 

Visualize how you spend your time in conversations

Visuals are an incredibly useful way for leaders to understand their natural tendencies in conversation and improve their communication skills. 

For instance, some leaders have a tendency to dominate conversations and don’t spend enough time asking questions or getting input from team members. Other times, leaders try to be overly accommodating, asking too many questions and making the conversation feel more like an interrogation than a collaboration.

“Conversations are much like dancing,” said Behrens. “Sometimes we lead, sometimes we follow, and sometimes we mirror where it is hard to tell the difference. Effective conversations, just like a great dance, are well-balanced.”

By visualizing the flow of a conversation, leaders can see where their communication style lands and identify opportunities to improve. 

The Agile Leadership Journey uses a tool called the Catalyst Conversation to help leaders visually navigate conversations. 

“Utilizing the Catalyst Conversation tool requires practice and often represents a different way of communicating than most leaders are accustomed to,” said Behrens. “Keeping a visual representation of the conversation flow front and center helps leaders improve their communication, even in the moment,” explained Behrens.

Check out Behrens’s podcast, (Re)Learning Leadership, to receive more insights on evolving your mindset and accelerating change. 

2. Use visuals as a reminder—and inspiration—to sustain change

As much as we don’t want to admit it, humans are notoriously bad at sticking with change (ask anyone who has struggled with keeping New Year’s resolutions). Considering how important internal transformation is for leading an organization effectively, it’s clear how this natural tendency could be problematic for leaders.

Luckily, visuals not only help increase awareness, they’re also a powerful way to create action plans and stay on track after identifying areas of change. 

Visualize how you’ll reach your change goals

Once leaders have identified that a change is needed, they can create a visual action plan to determine just how they’re going to execute on that change. To ensure the change goal is actionable, Behrens recommends that leaders record:

• Why the goal is important now
• Potential obstacles that could hinder progress
• Small steps they can take to move the goal forward
• Measurements they’ll use to gauge success

“While most leaders set goals, many fail to successfully implement them,” said Behrens. “By visually breaking down the goal into these sections, leaders will formulate a well-thought-out approach that can guide their efforts to change.”

Use visuals to trigger certain behaviors

Many people already create daily reminders in their life and workspace. These could look like keeping a sticky note on your monitor with the words “Take a deep breath” written across it, posting your to-do list in a place you visit frequently, or color-coding time on your calendar for activities you’d otherwise forget. 

Similarly, simple visual cues can help leaders remember how they wish to spend their time or act in certain situations. For instance, Behrens encourages his clients to keep the visuals they create in workshops in a clearly visible place after the workshop is finished. These visuals serve as daily reminders to inspire leaders to maintain new mindsets or behaviors and continue on their internal transformation journey. 

“As soon as we start to visualize the material, it triggers a deeper level of engagement and connection that people feel to the material,” said Behrens. “Now, these visuals act as reminders of an experience that stays with them constantly.”

3. Use visuals to align leadership focus for organization-wide change

In addition to increasing awareness and inspiring behaviors for individuals, visuals also have the power to help align the focus of leaders across an organization. When a leadership team is aligned and working together on common behaviors and goals, they are in a much better position to lead an organization through change. 

“When you multiply the number of leaders working together on change, you start to get a real cultural influence,” explained Behrens. “This is where you can pull the bigger levels of organizational change.”

After all, organizations are made up of people, and all people have biases. Much like increasing awareness of personal biases is key to changing individual behaviors, creating awareness of organization-wide biases is key to changing company culture. Visuals can help shed light on these biases—and any discrepancies in perception across the organization. 

As a 2021 PwC survey reveals, many organizations experience a “perception chasm,” in which individuals below management view the culture significantly different than those in leadership positions. Visuals can help leadership see just how wide this perception gap is. 

For example, the visual above, created as part of Agile Leadership Journey’s Culture Values 360 Assessment, shows the difference between how one organization’s leadership viewed their culture (and what they desired in the culture) and how their employees viewed the same culture. By making this gap visible, leadership was better able to focus their efforts on closing the gap—and two years later, leadership and employees were much more aligned.

“By regularly visualizing this information, organizations can see how efforts to shape and improve culture have helped close the chasm, as well as areas they could focus on even more,” said Behrens. 

From increasing awareness to sparking motivation and aligning organizations, visuals are a powerful leadership tool for change initiatives.