Illustrate Your
Organizational Change
with Learning Maps

_{What is a learning map? It is a learning and communication tool that engages both the right brain (holistic, intuitive, pattern creating) and the left brain (logical, sequential, analytical) to produce new insight. A learning map is a large table visual -- perhaps five feet across. Learners sit around the map in small teams of five to six members and interact with it in various ways but often driven by a participant guide or a deck of cards that acts as a facilitator (so that the program is, in effect, self-facilitating.) The outcome is always a dialogue generated by the small learner team in which the make connections, draw meaning, and generate new awareness and behavior.}

Learning maps can be used to:

Present complex internal processes with vivid simplicity.
In this example, the client -- a global bank -- needed to help all employees understand internal processes. A "fluid" metaphor is employed in this art to demonstrate how money moves through the many parts of the organization, giving all employees a holistic enterprise view.

Create engagement around organizational initiatives or models.
Learning maps can be remarkably nuanced forms of communication and learning. In the example below, "gaming" elements (including a game track, rolls of the die, chance elements, and group dialogue) are used to create shared understanding of the organization's leadership model.

Tell the story of change in your organization.
At their core, learning maps are a narrative-driven learning tool... and that means they are ideal for telling (and creating!) a shared story. This may include exploration around:

-The mission/vision/values of the organization (and how individual members connect to it!)

-Change initiatives: "Why is this happening now? How is our organization responding? What is the impact on me, and what is my role in supporting the change?"

Build new skills.
Traditionally, learning maps are employed to generate awareness and understanding. However, they can also be combined with simulation and other learning devices to make them powerful skill-building exercises.

I'd love to tell you more about this flexible, powerful learning tool. Give me a call and tell me what kind of challenges you face, and I'll help you explore some of the possibilities that are available with a learning map.

Contact David Hutchens today for information.