Metaphors for what team leadership means to leaders (team leaders’ self-view)
| Group of team leaders | Metaphors they used |
|---|---|
| Team leaders with a positional leadership perspective and a narrow team view |
|
| “Someone who jumps out of an airplane with a group of people holding each other, who form a chain and work together to take on a completely new challenge. [3:9] I feel like one of those seven, but when a decision needs to be made, I take it. So if there was a different color of helmet, I would have chosen that one” (3:10) | |
| |
| “A buzzard. Not for the prey, but a bird with long wings that, without flapping its wings, can fly on thermals for a very long time–so with minimal effort–and he is beautiful. By the way, he has eaten his fill, so he is not looking for a rabbit or a mouse. He is just floating nicely. [10:3] So I am floating above the project, and I watch if it flows the way I think it should–more from a helicopter view, so to speak” (10:4) “And then, I often go to the nest, like, ‘Hey, make some space for your brother,’ or, ‘Think about your sister; it is her turn to eat now’” (10:6) | |
| |
| “I am, in one sense, a thinker, but in another sense, I am someone who always pours thinking into a mold that challenges people. If you want to be specific, I am some kind of a thinking provocateur but of a provocateur who uses quotations. It is not like I am strongly provocative, but it works. It’s like making a statement after thinking” (15:5) | |
| Team leaders with an interactive leadership perspective and a moderate team view |
|
| “The phenomenon of a watercolor painter, because he draws some lines with a pencil, thinking: This is a rough sketch of what I want to make. [1:1] (…) Based on each member’s talents and powers, you are going to paint (…), so the different colors of the people achieve a balance in the process. [1:17] (…) In cases of intense discussions, the paint goes everywhere. Then you need to frame the painting into certain emerging images, like a house or a river” (1:4). | |
| |
| “It resonated it my head these last few weeks, but the fact that I did not bring any [metaphor] is how I look at leadership. (…) I’m actually never that consciously concerned about myself as a leader, although I can take the role very easily. (…) Although I am a chair, sometimes others take over, and I don’t mind that. That is why it is hard to come up with an explicit metaphor because it [leadership] is something that lives implicitly, even when you have that role formally. I sense that I repeatedly have to remind myself about it. I am the leader of the chair. Pick it up” (7:5) | |
| |
| “I am not a leader in the sense of someone who precisely directs people. I am more like an ‘enthusiastor’ or motivator–you name it. I make people enthusiastic about a certain topic, and then I think people should have the skills to execute the task” (9:5) | |
| |
| “Leadership to me is what the blank line is in poetry. Namely, at first sight, there is nothing, yet it is completed in full from the previous sentence. And all the history that is already spoken already exists. (…) The blank line contains all that; it also knows the history. However, it is also the prelude to the next sentence that can emerge from the blank line. To me, that is the metaphor. [11:5] It is this picture by Heinrich Zille, a German photographer from the interwar period. It shows boys who are playing at a sandhill in Berlin somewhere in the Twenties. Here, you see some boys doing a handstand and a somersault, as well as one on top of the hill watching them. This boy, with whom I identify the most, is concerned with ‘Will this turn out well?’ although he is sitting there with a comfortable, relaxed attitude. Because you also have to enjoy the danger it may cause. (…). What you also see is like, ‘Does he enjoy the beauty of the composition?’ Not everyone is the same. Some people are slower; others are quicker. You should take that into account. (…) At the same time, this man wants to be there because that is more fun than sitting over here. This is related to the first metaphor. In this picture, you see the power of emptiness. This emptiness provides and opens up an image. That is what you have to deal with in many communication moments, but especially in moments in which you want to go somewhere together. To me, that’s leading something” (11:6) | |
| |
| “The School of Athens by Rafaello Santi. (…) That is simply what I want and what I stand for, and these are the kind of leaders I want—so, people who engage in dialog with each other by discussing and debating, but who clearly have a different position. Those leaders are Plato and Aristotle. And here is this student, who is sitting diligently, and one is hanging, and the other is diligently writing. That is just showing, ‘I have ideas. What do you think about them?’ And these guys have just a few more ideas—these two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle—than the rest. That does not mean that they are absolutely right. It’s just discovering together: ‘Which way should we go?’ In particular, the connection between the spirit of Plato, who has his finger up, and the earthly nature of Aristotle, who holds his hand down, like, ‘Guys, we have to connect the intuitive, the spiritual to the work that must be done; the harvest must be harvested. Come on!’ I think that is wonderful. Does that provide very specific guidelines? Yes, I have both sides, too. I can really get lost in beautiful literature, reading it until late at night, and get ideas. And at a certain point, I think, ‘Yes, the laundry needs to be done.’ Then I go really crazy, cleaning, vacuuming, or (…) it’s just who you are, and this is me” (12:4) | |
| |
| “When I think about a picture, I actually think about a human circle, and I am just one of them. [13:2] And I might have a different color. That is the image I have in my head all the time. A metaphor was not easy” (13:38) | |
| |
| “This [metaphor] may be an old professional dream: a conductor of a symphony orchestra. Music is a common thread in my life. (…) A conductor who gives space to different sections of a symphony orchestra. It is my job, with all those different sounds (…), to find commonality. But how you direct, facilitate it: that takes more, in the sense of how do you arrange a beautiful sound that makes the crowd think, ‘Wow, that is where I want to be, because they make beautiful music’” (17:5) | |
| Team leaders with a collective leadership perspective and a broad team view |
|
| “The metaphor I have is a tissue, wires, with three awnings. [2:3] It is an individual with his own wires—the wires between individuals and those of the context, the organization. [2:9] Thus, it is horizontal and vertical. (…). It is like a hub-and-spokes network of connections, patches, and threads in between, (…) of which the vertical lines are sometimes loosely connected to the horizontal movements” (2:10) | |
| |
| “A metaphor is a balance scale because of the balance. [8:3] Balance in the sense that you are part of the group. This is an important aspect of a leader. [8:4] Another metaphor is a throne because of its hierarchical position. [8:5] You can be a leader because you have a hierarchical position as a king, while you may not have those leadership skills by nature. I chose this because the leadership role I have is not really about getting a hierarchical position. You may be formally appointed to lead, but you have hardly any resources to correct colleagues sometimes, so to speak (…). So you don’t really get the role, and you are also not held accountable for it. [8:6] I was also thinking about a wolf. In the sense that the leader is also part of the pack. [8:9] What I wanted to say was that the leader is part of the team. [8:12]. That you are a team member, more than a team leader. Maybe you are 80% a team member, and for 20%, you take on leadership activities” (8:13) | |
| |
| “The skydivers who jump out of a plane, who hold each other with a big smile on their faces, and also a little tension because when you start something new, then you don’t know where you end. You know the goal, but how you get there is tensive. You look at the ground, but you hold each other; that is something together that is fun. [14:7] I am one of the skydivers” (14:8) | |
| |
| “The metaphor I chose is to raise children. This is because parenting is about two things: self-reliance stemming from your own identity (…). First, we work on our own identity, as in ‘who are we and what do we stand for’. (…) Then you say, ‘Instead of looking at me, what can we do about this together?’ There is no you; there is we. Some things one decides, but that does not imply that you ignore the other” (16:6) | |
| |
| “My metaphor is a conductor’s baton with two hands. In the sense that I might hold the baton as a metaphor in my hands. [18:3]. But with those who are there, together we are making something beautiful. Sometimes you need to speed up; sometimes you need to slow down. So, it’s achieving something together, and there is always someone needed to guide the way with the baton who helps, leads, and supports” (18:4) |
| Group of team leaders | Metaphors they used |
|---|---|
| Team leaders with a positional leadership perspective and a narrow team view | |
| “Someone who jumps out of an airplane with a group of people holding each other, who form a chain and work together to take on a completely new challenge. [3:9] I feel like one of those seven, but when a decision needs to be made, I take it. So if there was a different color of helmet, I would have chosen that one” (3:10) | |
| “A buzzard. Not for the prey, but a bird with long wings that, without flapping its wings, can fly on thermals for a very long time–so with minimal effort–and he is beautiful. By the way, he has eaten his fill, so he is not looking for a rabbit or a mouse. He is just floating nicely. [10:3] So I am floating above the project, and I watch if it flows the way I think it should–more from a helicopter view, so to speak” (10:4) “And then, I often go to the nest, like, ‘Hey, make some space for your brother,’ or, ‘Think about your sister; it is her turn to eat now’” (10:6) | |
| “I am, in one sense, a thinker, but in another sense, I am someone who always pours thinking into a mold that challenges people. If you want to be specific, I am some kind of a thinking provocateur but of a provocateur who uses quotations. It is not like I am strongly provocative, but it works. It’s like making a statement after thinking” (15:5) | |
| Team leaders with an interactive leadership perspective and a moderate team view | |
| “The phenomenon of a watercolor painter, because he draws some lines with a pencil, thinking: This is a rough sketch of what I want to make. [1:1] (…) Based on each member’s talents and powers, you are going to paint (…), so the different colors of the people achieve a balance in the process. [1:17] (…) In cases of intense discussions, the paint goes everywhere. Then you need to frame the painting into certain emerging images, like a house or a river” (1:4). | |
| “It resonated it my head these last few weeks, but the fact that I did not bring any [metaphor] is how I look at leadership. (…) I’m actually never that consciously concerned about myself as a leader, although I can take the role very easily. (…) Although I am a chair, sometimes others take over, and I don’t mind that. That is why it is hard to come up with an explicit metaphor because it [leadership] is something that lives implicitly, even when you have that role formally. I sense that I repeatedly have to remind myself about it. I am the leader of the chair. Pick it up” (7:5) | |
| “I am not a leader in the sense of someone who precisely directs people. I am more like an ‘enthusiastor’ or motivator–you name it. I make people enthusiastic about a certain topic, and then I think people should have the skills to execute the task” (9:5) | |
| “Leadership to me is what the blank line is in poetry. Namely, at first sight, there is nothing, yet it is completed in full from the previous sentence. And all the history that is already spoken already exists. (…) The blank line contains all that; it also knows the history. However, it is also the prelude to the next sentence that can emerge from the blank line. To me, that is the metaphor. [11:5] It is this picture by Heinrich Zille, a German photographer from the interwar period. It shows boys who are playing at a sandhill in Berlin somewhere in the Twenties. Here, you see some boys doing a handstand and a somersault, as well as one on top of the hill watching them. This boy, with whom I identify the most, is concerned with ‘Will this turn out well?’ although he is sitting there with a comfortable, relaxed attitude. Because you also have to enjoy the danger it may cause. (…). What you also see is like, ‘Does he enjoy the beauty of the composition?’ Not everyone is the same. Some people are slower; others are quicker. You should take that into account. (…) At the same time, this man wants to be there because that is more fun than sitting over here. This is related to the first metaphor. In this picture, you see the power of emptiness. This emptiness provides and opens up an image. That is what you have to deal with in many communication moments, but especially in moments in which you want to go somewhere together. To me, that’s leading something” (11:6) | |
| “The School of Athens by Rafaello Santi. (…) That is simply what I want and what I stand for, and these are the kind of leaders I want—so, people who engage in dialog with each other by discussing and debating, but who clearly have a different position. Those leaders are Plato and Aristotle. And here is this student, who is sitting diligently, and one is hanging, and the other is diligently writing. That is just showing, ‘I have ideas. What do you think about them?’ And these guys have just a few more ideas—these two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle—than the rest. That does not mean that they are absolutely right. It’s just discovering together: ‘Which way should we go?’ In particular, the connection between the spirit of Plato, who has his finger up, and the earthly nature of Aristotle, who holds his hand down, like, ‘Guys, we have to connect the intuitive, the spiritual to the work that must be done; the harvest must be harvested. Come on!’ I think that is wonderful. Does that provide very specific guidelines? Yes, I have both sides, too. I can really get lost in beautiful literature, reading it until late at night, and get ideas. And at a certain point, I think, ‘Yes, the laundry needs to be done.’ Then I go really crazy, cleaning, vacuuming, or (…) it’s just who you are, and this is me” (12:4) | |
| “When I think about a picture, I actually think about a human circle, and I am just one of them. [13:2] And I might have a different color. That is the image I have in my head all the time. A metaphor was not easy” (13:38) | |
| “This [metaphor] may be an old professional dream: a conductor of a symphony orchestra. Music is a common thread in my life. (…) A conductor who gives space to different sections of a symphony orchestra. It is my job, with all those different sounds (…), to find commonality. But how you direct, facilitate it: that takes more, in the sense of how do you arrange a beautiful sound that makes the crowd think, ‘Wow, that is where I want to be, because they make beautiful music’” (17:5) | |
| Team leaders with a collective leadership perspective and a broad team view | |
| “The metaphor I have is a tissue, wires, with three awnings. [2:3] It is an individual with his own wires—the wires between individuals and those of the context, the organization. [2:9] Thus, it is horizontal and vertical. (…). It is like a hub-and-spokes network of connections, patches, and threads in between, (…) of which the vertical lines are sometimes loosely connected to the horizontal movements” (2:10) | |
| “A metaphor is a balance scale because of the balance. [8:3] Balance in the sense that you are part of the group. This is an important aspect of a leader. [8:4] Another metaphor is a throne because of its hierarchical position. [8:5] You can be a leader because you have a hierarchical position as a king, while you may not have those leadership skills by nature. I chose this because the leadership role I have is not really about getting a hierarchical position. You may be formally appointed to lead, but you have hardly any resources to correct colleagues sometimes, so to speak (…). So you don’t really get the role, and you are also not held accountable for it. [8:6] I was also thinking about a wolf. In the sense that the leader is also part of the pack. [8:9] What I wanted to say was that the leader is part of the team. [8:12]. That you are a team member, more than a team leader. Maybe you are 80% a team member, and for 20%, you take on leadership activities” (8:13) | |
| “The skydivers who jump out of a plane, who hold each other with a big smile on their faces, and also a little tension because when you start something new, then you don’t know where you end. You know the goal, but how you get there is tensive. You look at the ground, but you hold each other; that is something together that is fun. [14:7] I am one of the skydivers” (14:8) | |
| “The metaphor I chose is to raise children. This is because parenting is about two things: self-reliance stemming from your own identity (…). First, we work on our own identity, as in ‘who are we and what do we stand for’. (…) Then you say, ‘Instead of looking at me, what can we do about this together?’ There is no you; there is we. Some things one decides, but that does not imply that you ignore the other” (16:6) | |
| “My metaphor is a conductor’s baton with two hands. In the sense that I might hold the baton as a metaphor in my hands. [18:3]. But with those who are there, together we are making something beautiful. Sometimes you need to speed up; sometimes you need to slow down. So, it’s achieving something together, and there is always someone needed to guide the way with the baton who helps, leads, and supports” (18:4) |
Sharing content requires targeting cookies to be enabled. Please update your cookie preferences to use this feature.