Seeing Is Believing, Seeing is TeachingBy David ChmielJuly 10, 2020

What you see, and how you translate that vision to others, can define the success of your leadership style

Visual thinking expert Todd Cherches shares the power of finding the right image to illustrate any point.

Imagine that you are part of a team that created life-sized animatronic animals in your California facility. Then you dismantle them, ship them to an amusement park in China, and get on a plane to assemble them and ensure that that they work without a hitch.

Now realize that you must use local tools. And nobody on your team speaks Mandarin — and their “translator” didn’t speak English. How do you complete the job?

According to Todd Cherches, author of VisuaLeadership, Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and Life, and leader on this real-life mission, “You start playing Pictionary. We drew images of the tools, then we pointed and mimicked why we needed it. We bonded over trying to help each other. It was great.”

Cherches addressed the Leadership Forum Community’s “Incubating Leadership” group, the eight-week session leading up to its 102nd annual Community Summit. His “Incubating Leadership Through the Power of Visual Thinking” captured the imagination of a global audience determined to find new ways to connect with everyone in their lives.

(Julia M. Cameron/Pexels.com)

“Vision and leadership are inseparable,” Cherches said. “The way we lead has a lot to do with the lens through which we see the world.”

That’s what brings the challenge. In theory, it’s easy to acknowledge that most people learn by viewing images. While you might have an image in your head, and what that means to you — and the message you want to convey, that image, or the metaphor you use to describe its value, might mean nothing to the people with whom you are communicating.

That brings up one simple lesson for anyone who is committed to effective leadership: Know your audience.

Whether you are about to address a single employee in a face-to-face meeting or an audience of 140,000 screaming fans, it is essential to establish a connection with them on the most basic level.

“Think to yourself, ‘How are we going to frame this picture in my head to get more people to understand,’” Cherches said. “Because images overrule text, it’s essential to ensure what I call ‘ARC’ -- Attention, Focus, and Retention. If we don’t get our audiences to focus, understand and remember what we’re talking about, we haven’t used our images to gain maximum impact.”

Cherches and the group discussed the value of symbols and their impact on people who have shorter attention spans and busy lifestyles that compete with the desire to dig into the written word.

“Look at the power of logos — Apple, Nike, Google, which work — and others that don’t. And now today, with images, emoticons, and emojis — these images stick with you more than words. And it all can be traced back to the earliest drawings of the cavemen or the hieroglyphics that eventually led to our alphabet and language.”

True to his vision, Cherches left the audience with a collection of titles that have inspired his work — in an image:

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LFCThe Leadership Forum Community is a tax-exempt, 501(c)3 organization, organized for the purpose of education. We are only able to continue our work through the generous donations of the members and friends of the community. We rely on donations to cover our annual operating expenses. In addition, we have an all-volunteer staff and board who are dedicated to our mission. Tax-deductible donations can be made as a General Donation to the operating fund to further the activities of the organization, or to the Leadership Forum Community Scholarship Fund . Donations may be made by individuals or organizations and are deeply appreciated. Interested in becoming a member? Click here for more information about this essential and thriving organization. Have a question or comment? Click here to communicate with the leadership team.