Thinking in Pictures: Leveraging Visual Models for Decision Making and Self-awareness

As humans, we're naturally inclined to process information in a variety of ways. Some of us are audial learners, some prefer kinesthetic experiences, and then there are those like me who think visually. Over the years, I've come across several professional images that impacted the way I perceive information, make decisions, and evaluate my emotions. Let's journey through these images together.

The Dumbbell Model in Decision Making (From Farnam Street's Decision By Design Course: https://fs.blog/decision-by-design/)

Picture two weights connected by a thin bar. This visual symbolizes the importance of focusing on key, high-impact areas (right and left sides) while simplifying or ignoring the rest (middle of the dumbbell). By emphasizing what matters and disregarding the noise, decision-making becomes more streamlined.

When I was deciding whether or not to move into Business Development, I spent my time on that right hand side of the dumbbell. I spoke with my inner circle of mentors, reached out to current BDMs and BDRs to understand the role differences, asked questions to past direct reports of the hiring manager, researched how to be successful in such a role. It was not a decision to make lightly. Whereas what I had for lunch on those days was a quick, short decision (left hand side of the dumbbell). By not getting bogged down in the middle, I freed my mental capacity and reduced decision fatigue.

Oscillating Life Curve (From Jon Poole’s Leadership in Easy Steps, 2011)

Life isn’t linear. The oscillating curve is a reminder that our professional (and personal) journeys will have peaks and troughs. By understanding and embracing this, we can ride the waves with resilience and grace.

When we look back on our past experiences, we realize there are professional and personal highs and lows along the journey. Some we worked towards fervently (grad school! marriage!), others we never would have expected (depression, social isolation), yet we are still here today. The resiliency muscles you've flexed before will serve you well in the future, as new challenges arise. As I look at the years ahead, I can dream of running a marathon and starting a book store / wine bar / tea shop (peaks), while acknowledging that layoffs, friendships moving on, and health scares (valleys) are also part of the life story.

9 Hats on a Wall (My Own Creation)

These hats represent various functions and perspectives that should be considered during decision-making. Before making a decision, I prefer to close my eyes and metaphorically try on each hat. Placing myself in the shoes of an operator on the manufacturing floor (hard hat) or scrolling a website and ordering a product for the first time (consumer / customer). Feel free to swap out the hats depending on the circumstances. Hey, maybe you prefer a propeller hat instead?!

Find Your Balance (From a previous Mentor)

Visualize your hand, each finger standing for a distinct value of your choice. In the example above: physical, mental, family, friends, and work were chosen. Regularly, rate yourself on a scale of 0 to 5 to assess alignment with these values. It's an insightful tool to check-in and refocus on what truly matters. A score of 10 will sound internal alarms, whereas a score of 22 a sense of inner peace.

Circles of Proximity (My Own Creation)

Imagine concentric circles. Those you’re closest to are in the innermost circle, and as the circles expand, so does the distance from center in those relationships. This model serves as a visual cue for gauging trust and where to prioritize energy based on the relationships. For me, that's investing more time and energy and resources towards the inner circle, than to those on the outer circle.

6 Thinking Hats (From Edward de Bono's book "Six Thinking Hats," 1985)

When solving a problem, it's easy to become rooted in your go-to instinctual approaches and biased perspectives. The Six Thinking Hats technique gives permission to the team to explore a range of possibilities. Perhaps you assign everyone in the brainstorm a particular hat (What would happen if a Process oriented person wore a Feelings Hat?) or the team flows through the hats in stages. As suggested by GroupMap.com:

1. White Hat: Present the facts of the problem
2. Green Hat: Generate ideas on how the problem can be solved
3. Yellow Hat: Evaluate the ideas by listing their benefits
4. Black Hat: Evaluate the ideas by listing their drawbacks
5. Red Hat: Get everybody’s gut feelings about the alternatives
6. Blue Hat: Summarize the discussion and agree on the conclusions

The Feelings Wheel

Have you ever struggled to put your emotions into words? The Feelings Circle was originally developed by psychotherapist,?Dr. Gloria Willcox ?to facilitate better verbalization of emotions by her clients.?The feelings wheel categorizes and breaks down emotions into more nuanced terms. By identifying and naming our emotions, we can better understand and manage them.

I wouldn't describe myself as an angry person, I don't have outbursts nor am full of loud shaking rage. When coupled with Myers Briggs learnings, the Feelings Wheel helped me understand resentment is a more common display of anger in my life. Withdrawing ideas from group discussions, feelings of annoyance when not heard creatively or critically breaking apart the suggestions of others (the antithesis of building with a "Yes.. And" approach), were all manifestations of that internal frustration building up. Now that I know, I'm able to manage better in real time.

These visual aids have become an integral part of my professional toolkit. They provide clarity, focus, and direction, especially in moments of uncertainty. Whether you're a visual thinker or not, I encourage you to explore and perhaps incorporate these into your decision-making and introspective practices. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Feel free to connect and share your own visual metaphors. Let's make the world a visually enriched learning space.