Work as Art :: Art as Metaphor
Part 2 of a series exploring the use of art at work and seeing work as art.
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I have come to see that workplaces are much like art and art making. Similar a piece of art, organizations are a creation - a concept, a process, an expression, something to view and experience, a piece of work woven together by a workplace community. But unlike a finished piece, exhibited by an artist, the work of the organization is an on-going and ever-evolving creation.
Seeing this ongoing and unfolding as a natural part of the organizations has been a critical lens to my work. It requires patience and often tests my perfectionist tendencies but I am learning to see what is, and what is possible, and allow that to emerge.
In my experience, art and art making can play a unique role in organizational life. For example, at the altitude of purpose, business leaders continually strive to motivate employees by communicating a compelling vision. To do this, they often use storytelling. Storytelling is elevated to a new level when paired with art. The art becomes a metaphor for the vision, carrying its passion and creating new ways for employees to connect with the organization’s unfolding narrative.
Art and art making can play a unique role in organizational life.
One area of organizational life where art can make a real difference is with change and transition. Change in organizations is often difficult. We have all experienced this in the last year living with the coronavirus pandemic. While we responded quickly in crisis mode, the ongoing and continually changing nature of the pandemic, and the volatile and ambiguous context that came with it, created hardship for many. While working from home I personally turned to art to ground me and in one of those moments recalled a time in my professional life where art was helpful.
In my last job, during a CEO transition, art became a vehicle to help our management team through a challenging time. With a shift in strategy and an emotional lay-off, the organization and management were experiencing some angst and a high degree of uncertainty. Our end-of-year Board meeting was approaching, which would focus on visioning, and our new CEO asked me to craft a check-in and check-out exercise. I took this as an opportunity to consider what might generate positive energy during this critical time. I hoped to design an activity that would:
help us connect with our honest feelings
remind us of our deep connections to each other
remember the amazing work we had done together to date
recommit to each other and to this work
do some letting go, capture our imagination and hopefulness, and
help us to fully embrace the potential of the organization's future
So I put my thinking cap on and curated something rather unique.
At the start of the meeting I presented each person with an 11x17-inch printout of a colorful oil painting by Rik Fitch called "Outrigger." Our meeting was in Hawaii so the image was fitting. I asked the group to first simply look at and take in the beautiful image. I then passed around small paper frames, about 2-inches in size, and asked each person to locate a portion of the painting that drew their attention, for any reason at all. It was fun watching each person move their frame around the image, like a ouija board.
The idea was that each person’s frame would source something they were thinking about or feeling in that moment, at this particular meeting, with its intention. I asked the group to reflect silently about what this part of the painting might mean in the context of our organization change and write that on their small frame. In a go-round, we then each shared the detail of the painting we’d chosen and what about it spoke to us.
The results were fascinating. Several people chose the same area of the painting, but told very different stories about the value of that detail to them. As hoped, their stories captured the essence of something they were feeling in that moment - a fear, a hope, a sadness, an opportunity, and so much more. The sharing of these stories gave us insight into each other's perspective, emotion and energy. It was quite moving and we all felt more connected. There was a sense of collective arriving and release that allowed us to then tackle the rest of our big agenda.
We posted all of the art pieces, frames affixed with tape, on a wall as a gallery we could observe throughout the day.
At the end of our meeting, as a check out, we gathered at this gallery, took it in silently, and then shared what this exercise inspired in us as we then thought about the next chapter in the organization narrative. Again, we were in the midst of a lot of change and for many it was a stressful and unsure time, but what was shared at the end of the meeting communicated a sense of hope and a commitment to the future. This colorful visual image had become a vehicle for meaningful connection to each other and our organization’s purpose.
In this seemingly simple activity, art became a powerful metaphor for our group. It carried us at a time when we needed a positive anchor. In his book, Images of Organization, management author and professor Gareth Morgan writes that “we understand and define much of our experience of life in terms of metaphors… We draw inferences, set goals, make commitments, and execute plans, all on the basis of how we in part structure our experience, consciously and unconsciously, by means of metaphor.”
We understand and define much of our experience of life in terms of metaphors.
Our board meeting exercise illustrated this beautifully. Metaphor was used to better understand our experience of organizational change and give voice to the various experiences of that change. The metaphor gave voice to what might not have been said in a traditional meeting agenda and opened up a wider possibility of inquiry and expression that unlocked hope, potential, and new possibility for our group -- an upward spiral.
In this example I used an artistic image for our activity, but other forms of art could have been used. Author and educator Parker Palmer describes these as “third objects,” things that serve as metaphoric objects (a poem, art work, music, story, or other thing) that attend to the issue you wish to discuss but also allow participants to explore the topic through that object. This third object creates a safer way to explore and express, especially for topics that might be sensitive or vulnerable. This was certainly my experience with our check-in and check-out activity!
Organizations are complex and people’s experience of the workplace is diverse and sometimes conflicting. Feeling safe can sometimes feel elusive to employees, particularly when times are hard. However, the creative use of metaphoric objects can unlock real emotions and support authentic conversation at these times. The use of art can be a powerful and positive organization practice.