The Denver Housing Authority needed to provide their staff with some tools to deal with difficult situations they face in their jobs. They decided to hold three sessions with approximately 60 employees per session, divided by job levels and titles. That was quite a challenge given the number of participants and the sensitivity of the topic for employees who were having some high stakes conversations about ethical boundaries.
I created a live graphic recording map for each one day workshop. Although it was the same structure and content, each map and session was driven by the input and dynamics of each group. The same topic was presented to three different audiences of the same organization, but the conversation was targeted to their specific challenges. And yes, all three maps look different. The purpose was to capture their thoughts and then present tools they can apply to difficult situations.
All participants received smaller copies of their own session’s maps. These copies were their “notes.” After the workshop, groups were to have brown bag sessions to analyze issues that would arise, and which tools were – or could have been used – to best handle the situation.
