I have been called “the king of metaphor!” So very often when giving instruction and direction I add a suitable metaphor which helps to demonstrate my point and keeps people thinking about the outcomes we are pursuing. Metaphors are second nature to me and I use them with the precision of a brush and oils in the hands of a world-class artist!
Early this morning I was watching a TED talk by Sohail Inayatullah, a widely acclaimed pioneer in Causal Layered Analysis. He said a very interesting thing regarding metaphors. He explained how leaders, groups of people, and entire nations will typically have a mental model, a metaphor so to speak, when they are thinking about another group or a particular issue of the day which frames how they respond and interact. If their metaphor is negative, they respond defensively, cautiously, or with mistrust. If their metaphor is positive, they will respond in kind. One of the reasons why so many of the world’s wicked problems never resolve is that parties have a metaphor in mind that keeps them from ever changing their opinion. Inayatullah described how the only way to change the future is to change our metaphor. He suggested that we ask “Does my metaphor serve the future I desire?”
As leaders, we must be aware of the mental models and metaphors from which we choose the way we interact with others. If things don’t ever seem to improve, perhaps it’s because we have a negative metaphor stuck in our heads that clouds all of our perceptions. Think of all the issues that might be solved if we just changed our baseline metaphor about them. I believe that this is something to consider as we lead. It’s awfully difficult to clean out the garage when we refuse to unlock and open the door.
Lead well.