1. The Power and Limitation of Leadership
and Organisational Metaphors
Olaojo Aiyegbayo

2. Man as a storytelling animal

4. “We are, as a species, addicted
to story. Even when the body
goes to sleep, the mind stays
up all night, telling itself
stories.”
Jonathan Gottschall

5. Steve Denning

6. Metaphors

9. What is a metaphor?
?

10. “A figure of speech in which a
word or phrase is applied to an
object or action to which it is not
literally applicable.”
Oxford Dictionary

12. Book’s Main
Premise

13. Metaphors are powerful because …….

14. Metaphors
Perception
Action

16. Morgan’s Organisational Metaphors
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Organisations as Machines
Organisations as Organisms
Organisations as Brains
Organisations as Cultures
Organisations as Political Systems
Organisations as Psychic Prisons

17. Metaphorical Stem Activity 1
“My organisation is (like)
………………… because …………”
Complete with a metaphor that best describes your
current organisation.

18. Organisational Metaphors: Sources
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Military Metaphors
Sports Metaphors
Religious Metaphors
Musical Metaphors
Family Metaphors
Biological metaphors
Ecological Metaphors
Cooking Metaphors
Medical Metaphors

20. Metaphorical Stem Activity 2
“ Leadership is (like)
………………… because …………”

21. Common Leadership Metaphors
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Leaders as Conductors
Leaders as Coaches
Leaders as Doctors
Leaders as Servants
Leaders as Warriors

22. The Limitation of Metaphors
Partiality of Insight

23. “The blind men and the elephant”
by John Godfrey Saxe

24. Six Blind Men of Indostan
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Elephant is very like a wall
Elephant is very like a spear
Elephant is very like a snake
Elephant is very like a tree
Elephant is very like a fan
Elephant is very like a rope

25. “And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!”
John Godfrey Saxe

26. “Any given metaphor can be
incredibly persuasive, but it can also
be blinding and block our ability to
gain overall view.”
Gareth Morgan

27. Image Attribution
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Storytelling: http://goo.gl/b4os37
Storytelling animal cover: http://goo.gl/4ZReTF
Steve Denning: http://goo.gl/tWlQYf
Magnifying glass: http://goo.gl/6s58QN
Moses: http://goo.gl/u0Ulu0
Milk and Honey: http://goo.gl/MUiGmw
Metaphors we live by: http://goo.gl/vKTRwx
Images of Organization: http://goo.gl/As5rWm
Elephant: http://goo.gl/HLrV7m