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Lessons from a 12 year old

This week a remarkable picture caught my eye. It’s an outstanding cartoon created by Tom. Tom is 12 years old and was up for having a chat about his creation so I went along to meet him to see what I could learn from him.

This week a remarkable picture caught my eye. It’s an outstanding cartoon created by Tom. Tom is 12 years old and was up for having a chat about his creation so I went along to meet him to see what I could learn from him.

Tom is a hugely enthusiastic young man, and it’s hard not to pick up on his positive approach to just about everything. In fact, he had to go off and have a bounce on the trampoline half way through our chat to let off a bit of steam.

Tom is an avid doodler…any chance he gets he’s putting pen to paper. This colourful cartoon he’d made started with a doodle in the centre of page and worked out from there. He didn’t know how it was going to turn out but was happy to explore and let the picture evolve. He said when he was doing it he felt like he had no boundaries and no filter, happy to let the process run and the ideas to flow.

I’ve been drawing pictures with transformation teams for some time now but it was really refreshing to talk to Tom and get his pure perspectives. I learnt a lot off Tom that can inspire how we work, bringing art into the science of transformation programmes.

  • Tom wasn’t daunted by needing to know what the final picture would look like. The process of drawing can surface valuable detail. I have found that drawing out future solutions and ways of working can check the thinking and resolve any gaps.
  • Tom let his creativity lead the way. Introducing creativity and imagination to transformation logic and analysis brings a left-right brain balance to the thinking, surfacing new ideas and encouraging innovation.
  • Tom’s cartoon is striking and there’s lots going on, but it’s a pleasure to walk through the detail. Visual images communicate a richness that words can’t. When drawing for programmes, we start to see connections and relationships; we can show feelings and demonstrate experiences. We can start to see how everything fits together, compared with sheets of requirements that are hard to assimilate. Pictures can provide simple mental models that summarise what can typically be a complex landscape.
  • When we sat down to look at Tom’s cartoon, we had a great chat about the different characters and messages. Drawings can pull us in, engaging our attention and demanding a response. They don’t have to be perfect and often a sketch can provoke a valuable discussion where both artist and audience learn a lot in the process of creation and iteration. It’s a great way of starting conversations and collaborating on transformation thinking.
  • Tom’s cartoon is colourful and bold. A strong visual image stays with us. Using sketches, drawings, posters and pictures can help everyone across the organisation get on board; to understand the vision, track the transformation activity, and get ready for future ways of working.

L to R: Alison and Tom

It was obvious that Tom had real fun creating his characters across the page. Bringing this creative approach into a transformation programme can reduce stress and improve results. It’s a playful process which encourages a creative and emotional response.

Drawing transformation pictures can start to bring programmes to life and build engagement. The approach can be therapeutic in getting concerns and worries out on the table. Co-creating sketches is an inclusive way to bring together diverse teams to collaborate, check wider thinking and build a collective view.

So, next time you find yourself doodling… carry on… and create your big pictures of change.