March, 2015
TIPS ON HOW TO DRAW AN “800lb GORILLA” OUT OF THE ROOM.
Have you ever known a large, heavy, awkward silence that creates tension, causes folks to be “stuck”, ideas and progress stalled out? No one seems to be able to articulate this beast so things can get “unstuck”. Say hello to the “800lb Gorilla” that sucks the energy out of the room and now dictates “stuck” into your culture.
The “gorilla” seems untouchable and is a monstrous barrier to healthy communications within a business or partnership. Your “story” is stalled out due to unspoken or miss-communicated messages, along with maybe some pretty strange avoidance tactics used to not confront the issues that are creating “stuck”. Uncomfortable environments, tense relationships…you all know “it” is in the room. It eats up everyone’s energy and enthusiasm and you can’t seem to get it to move or leave.
Change, fear of change, process of change, all invite the gorilla of defeat and stagnation for teams. Fear to change can tempt you to follow plan “A” to the very end, even if you can see danger, the monster gorilla waiting to devour your success…rather than find a way to communicate and go for plan “B”.
How do you move the gorilla out of the room?
There are many ways to initiate effective gorilla warfare. Two things you can do immediately are to stop feeding the gorilla and then “interview” the gorilla! Using words to describe a monster may come off as finger pointing, as well as leave lots of room for reading between the lines (how do you think the gorilla was born?!). SHOW the gorilla visually with quick sketch art so folks can see it, embrace it, even laugh at it.
How can you stop feeding the gorilla?
Inability to embrace change, confront fear, lack of knowledge, unclear focus, fuzzy direction, differing opinions, all feed this quickly growing “800 lb Gorilla”. Along with a “dash of anger and frustration”, your gorilla is happy to stay put…unless you stop feeding it!
You can take the fear food away by:
1. Be bold, make it known that there IS a “gorilla”: You identify the object of discomfort, the need for discussion. Name the issue so you as well as your team can now stop holding their breath and actually talk about getting solutions. Actually sketch out what the monster looks like and give it labels in the areas that represent fears (monster big mouth with giant teeth), judgments (monster sharp horns or bright green eyes), unclear focus (monster has dark glasses)…you get the point…get creative.
2. Hold a “do not feed the gorilla” brainstorming meeting: Get your team together for a breakfast meeting to have a positive brainstorming session. YOU make the “issues” list and label this list as “800lb Gorilla. Then team brainstorm a list of “do not feed the gorilla” solutions. ONLY solutions, no complaints in this session. It’s OK to make fun of the gorilla, but no judgments allowed. Your sketches can show the process of “before and after” gorilla that has lost weight, noting with call outs the most effective “diet” factors (i.e. add accountability = minus 100 lbs.).
How do you “interview” a gorilla?
Interview the gorilla by SHOWING the monster. Visual sketch story is much quicker, less intimidating, encourages participation and can be lots of fun.
1. Pretend YOU are the gorilla: Tell your “story”, both talk it, and draw it…give it a personality, a purpose for “why” it is there. Turn that negative fear, anger, frustration into a positive result. Have a conversation with your team…as the gorilla…find out how your team can and will find a way to understand what the gorilla needs to move on! Draw this out…tell the story from the gorilla’s point of view. Watch out, the gorilla could email you a “hello” card now and then to share a new positive message or two.
2. An anti-gorilla security blanket is needed: Draw a large rectangle with a “no gorilla” sign in the middle. Your blanket has a list of examples of past success, recognizing great milestones and positive compliments for team members. Then list some new ideas on how to solve what is “stuck” and add this to your list. Embrace change by bringing “something old and something new” together. Draw a success timeline plan (or list) out as a process that solves your “stuck”…put in gorilla “tracks” and his “comments” outside the blanket walking away from the new plans. The gorilla leaves the room when communications open up!
Quick sketch visuals can make a “frightful” gorilla discussion fun without finger pointing and produces understanding and “buy in”. Get everyone really seeing and talking to your “stuck” gorilla to get unstuck and moving forward again. Give me a call and let’s talk about drawing up some solutions.
Charles Hawthorne says: “A sketch has charm because of its truth, not because it is unfinished.” As you can see, when you draw your gorilla “out”, it shows your story “truths” and the gorilla is charmed into leaving the room. Happy drawing!
Thanks for your interest and sharing!
I’m Paula Brown; Visual Scribe / Feng Shui practitioner / Author / Animal Communicator. I am a visual storyteller showing you how to IGNITE YOUR STORY, YOUR ENERGY, YOUR WELL-BEING for both business and home. My site is: www.chilightful.com Connect on: LinkedIn, Twitter. and you can “like” my facebook page at: www.facebook.com/ChiLightful
