I spent a while visiting James at the V&A Museum. He filled me up with cappuccino and then simply said; “Let’s wander – you lead….”
The V&A is a curious place and I hadn’t been there for years so was imagining that a guided tour might be on offer. Instead, we just drifted through some amazingly beautiful exhibits as I gently followed my instincts. I found myself feeling a little self-conscious – I’m aware that when I’m making images I tend to just hang around for ages, taking stuff in…
But wandering together worked too – especially when we (well, I…) stumbled across ‘Ice Angel’ by Dominic Harris and Cinimod Studio. The installation has lights which mimic the kind of process and patterning that children use to make make ‘snow angels’. OK, let’s be honest, I’m a keen snow angel maker myself!
James politely obliged my request to throw some shapes and here he is – a rather silhouetted and anonymous angel. But this could be a metaphor for a way of working that organisation consultants and change agents might want to take seriously. Many like to claim the credit for change and put themselves in the foreground – I suspect that James doesn’t work like that – as we spoke it became clear that his priority is to develop others and to let them bring their own learning and creativity to organisational change.
Mmmm… standing alongside, supporting people as they lead themselves through new experiences… It might catch on…