The Organizational Zoo

The "OrgZoo" concept is a set of creative metaphor characters that help develop understanding of human interactions and relationships. The characters represent behaviours and are used to facilitate constructive conversations about social interactions and the value of diversity. Activities described enable exploration of behavioural awareness and how our behavioural choices assist to engage more productively with each other. The Organizational Zoo book and Character Cards are most often used as a support resource for personal and professional development and for mentoring, coaching and self-development. It is a foundational companion book for Becoming Adaptable, a later book that adds more advanced activities and context around the application of the concepts.

Part 1 contains an alphabetical list of characters that each represent recognisable behaviours in humans. Using the characters in gamified ways enables workshop participants to engage in inclusive, safe and constructive conversation about behaviours and their impacts on relationships. The greater awareness of behavioural choices generated through these interactions stimulates experiential learning outcomes including:

       Understanding peers, bosses and other associates

       How to use creative metaphor to build stronger trust and relationships and reduce conflict

       Improve the atmosphere of your environment

       Build teams with a productive mix of behaviours

       Influence others more effectively

       Escape the ill-meaning predators in the ecosystem

       Assess the benefits of diversity in your environment

       Develop positive strategies to address disagreements

       Have more fun with work colleagues and friends