This framework hits home for me too, especially the way values, interests, and power play out in L&D projects. We might not call it diplomacy, but half the work is navigating competing interests and invisible power dynamics while still keeping our design values intact.
I love your link with shadows. It reminds me that every choice we make as designers (who we involve, what we surface, what we let slide) shapes the learning environment far beyond the deliverable itself. That shadow can either make trust and experimentation possible, or quietly shut it down.
In recent years, I have experienced disillusionment caused by a marked difference between the values spoken and the values acted out by those in power. These people protect their own interests with a hell of a lot of preaching and very little practice.
Whether in DEI, mental health in the workplace, or bringing one's whole self to work, the values are brightly coloured from a distance but utterly transparent up close at the personal level.
You're right, in my opinion, to say the three are in conversation with each other, but when one of them lies, whether in the workplace or in international relations, the other two are sorely compromised, and the shadow is being cast by a dark foreboding cloud.
Wonderful piece, Tom. Very thoughtful and an insightful parallel to draw.
This framework hits home for me too, especially the way values, interests, and power play out in L&D projects. We might not call it diplomacy, but half the work is navigating competing interests and invisible power dynamics while still keeping our design values intact.
I love your link with shadows. It reminds me that every choice we make as designers (who we involve, what we surface, what we let slide) shapes the learning environment far beyond the deliverable itself. That shadow can either make trust and experimentation possible, or quietly shut it down.
In recent years, I have experienced disillusionment caused by a marked difference between the values spoken and the values acted out by those in power. These people protect their own interests with a hell of a lot of preaching and very little practice.
Whether in DEI, mental health in the workplace, or bringing one's whole self to work, the values are brightly coloured from a distance but utterly transparent up close at the personal level.
You're right, in my opinion, to say the three are in conversation with each other, but when one of them lies, whether in the workplace or in international relations, the other two are sorely compromised, and the shadow is being cast by a dark foreboding cloud.
Agreed. Oh how exhausting that preaching can be when you're someone who supposedly "benefits" from it!