Concept Mapping

Concept Mapping is a visual tool that helps teams organize and connect ideas in a structured way.

It shows how different concepts relate to each other by using labeled arrows or connections, giving everyone a shared view of a topic’s structure and complexity.

It prompts teams to ask:

• What are the key ideas or elements in this topic?
• How do these ideas connect or influence each other?
• What patterns, gaps, or relationships are we noticing?

By making thinking visible, concept maps support clearer communication, deeper analysis, and stronger alignment across teams.

Best Practices

Build it together. Have team members share and connect ideas together – this leads to deeper insight and shared ownership.

Label the arrows with verbs. Instead of just drawing lines, explain the relationships between ideas with action words (e.g., “leads to,” “depends on”).

Stay flexible. It’s normal to move, add, or delete items as your understanding evolves.

Use visuals intentionally. Arrows show direction. Icons or colors can help group related ideas or highlight key parts of the system.

Basic Steps

1. Define the focus. Choose a central question or topic to explore.

2. Brainstorm key concepts. List important ideas, factors, or players. Aim for nouns or short phrases.

3. Map the relationships. Draw arrows to connect ideas. Label each arrow with a verb to explain the relationship.

4. Refine and organize. Group related concepts, look for feedback loops or gaps, and revise as needed.

5. Reflect and share. Discuss the map as a team. What insights does it reveal? What’s missing? What next steps does it suggest?

Benefits

• Makes complex systems and thinking easier to understand
• Builds a shared mental model across teams
• Surfaces assumptions and unstated connections
• Helps identify leverage points, gaps, or redundancies
• Supports systems thinking and cross-disciplinary insight