A good metaphor stays in our system.

principle — attributed to Caitlin Walker

Walker's discipline on metaphor is operational. Metaphors are sticky and natural. People talk in metaphors all the time. They make sense. There is something about the cohesion of a metaphor that protects the person from judgment. A good metaphor stays in the system. The implication for collaboration is structural. If one team member says they work best like a post office sorter, with a box for everything and predetermined slots, and another says they work best like a fisherman waiting in the sun for the right pike, both metaphors surface invisible architecture the people would not otherwise articulate. The team can now design around the difference rather than mistaking it for resistance.

For facilitators, team leaders, and executive coaches running team-development sessions. The principle is most useful as a structuring instrument when team members have been having the same conflicts repeatedly without understanding why.

metaphor, stickiness, cohesion, protection-from-judgment