CASE STUDY
ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL OF LONDON
STRATEGIC ILLUSTRATION
The Challenge
At the end of the first wave of the COVID pandemic, the Royal Free Hospital debriefed around one hundred leaders, from ward sisters through to senior executives and clinical leaders, on their experiences during the first four months of COVID. They asked Human Systems Dynamics Consultants, Griff Griffiths and Mary Nations, to analyze, synthesise, and look for patterns in the debrief interviews. The client lead also requested a one-page visual representation of their findings.
The severe test of the pandemic had made heavy demands on the organisational system, which had responded by flexing to meet them. Mary and Griff analysed the stories in the interviews to discover how that flexing had occurred. They also looked for ways in which the pandemic had changed approaches to work and what insights could help the hospital moving forward.
Approach
Working as part of the consulting team, the strategic illustration process unfolded over three iterative rounds. Mary and Griff provided their in-progress findings and writing. I drew what they were learning in each draft of writing. Each illustration draft revealed deeper patterns and as-yet-unseen connections. It also helped the consulting team uncover a key insight: the role of tensions in the workplace and how to navigate them.
The Impact
- The final strategic illustration was presented directly to the CEO
- New theoretical insights about workplace tensions were gained
- A new approach was developed with the client to support leaders at every level
Capabilities & Roles
Capabilities Utilized: Strategic Illustration, Visual Facilitation & Harvesting, Collaborative Design
Roles Fulfilled: Strategic Illustrator, Visual Synthesizer, Collaborative Team Member
“When I talk about how you joined Griff and I last summer to add illustrations to the reporting process, I tend to describe your input via hand motions of grabbing things out of air and putting it into tangible form. The word ‘coalesce’ comes to mind but it is missing something – there is meaning-making and translation involved, an emergence-assistance that you added. And an ability to see what we didn’t yet have articulated.
I think being together in the HSD network already helped our collaboration with a trust grounded in some common language from the beginning. You joined in confidently and in partnership, ready to go. Perfectly ready!”
– Mary Nations
