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Beyond words: Visual methods in organizational research and consultancy


I enjoy photography and it is one of my main sources, and expressions, of creativity. I like to incorporate photography and imagery into my consultancy work as a way of opening up conversations and coming at organizational dilemmas from a fresh perspective. My approach is to help people make sense of the challenges they face, find new ways to address them and perform effectively. In this way, they are left with additional capacities to meet new and different challenges.

A meaningful image creates something new out of what life presents you with.
Andrew Paynter, Photographer

Working with imagery of all kinds is a source of great potential to unstick teams, organizations and leaders, and help them towards creative and effective responses to the rapidly evolving demands facing all sectors. If the answer to new market challenges was obvious then everyone would be doing it! The use of imagery is a way in which the hidden and ‘beneath the surface’ can be made visible and thought about. This is helpful in organizations that are struggling, but also in successful teams who need to innovate and adapt.

Images do not have a fixed meaning so open up many possibilities. All forms of art can make us see familiar things differently. The role of the consultant is to provide the environment in which people can be open to new thoughts and connect with others who may think or feel differently. The benefit of undertaking this work with groups is that it can lead to awareness and understanding of the other’s point of view and perhaps movement towards a shared perspective and agreement on ‘where we go from here’.

the more eyes, different eyes, we can use to observe one thing, the more complete will our concept of this thing be. 
Friedrich Nietzsche

One method I use regularly, in my research and consultancy, is known as the social-photo matrix (SPM). This was originally developed by Burkard Sievers as a:

practical consultancy intervention to help organizational members understand their working lives more fully.

SPM utilizes photography and free association to access the collective thoughts and feelings of a group of people about their organization or a chosen theme. Participants are asked to take a photograph on a chosen topic – e.g. my team, the company, the merger, new technologies – and these are then shown (anonymously) to the group for collective viewing and for them to share their associations, amplifications and links in as free a way as possible. The aim is to generate a large number of ‘thoughts’ which can be processed in the reflective session which follows. I have found it to be a rich and rewarding experience for participants.  

Try This

Please spend a few moments reflecting on the images in this article. 
  • What story are they telling?
  • How do they make you feel?
Now think about this in relation to a particular dilemma or challenge you are facing in your work.
  • Are there any new thoughts that arise that might be helpful?
Now go out of the room or building you are in and take some photographs using your phone of anything that catches your eye, or perhaps something that speaks to you about what you want to do with your dilemma or challenge.

I hope this is at least an interesting exercise and perhaps even a bit helpful. If you like it you can let me know in the comments.

Further reading

My Instagram profile for creative photography is @fotospigot

Andrew Paynter. ‘Do Photo - Observe. Compose. Capture. Stand out.’ https://thedobook.co/products/do-photo-observe-compose-capture-stand-out

Burkard Sievers. ‘Thinking organisations through photographs: the social photo-matrix as a method for understanding organisations in depth’, in Long, S., (ed.) Socioanalytic Methods: Discovering the Hidden in Organisations and Social Systems. London: Karnac, pp. 129-151.

All images are © Nick Waggett

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