ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the interdependence between influence, relationships, behaviour and leadership and describes how the use of metaphor can enhance outcomes from these interactions. It provides examples of how to apply metaphor in organisation to engage stakeholders and communicate more effectively. The chapter highlights the ability to influence upwards depends heavily on the strength of the relationships with ones stakeholders and that this is extremely dependent on emotional synergies and behavioural interactions. It describes how and why metaphor works as a medium of influence and learning. Metaphor has a wide variety of application across a range of fields including social research, problem-solving and policy making and understanding organisational culture. Machine and organism metaphors were used by Morgan to highlight the differences in organisational cultures and as a way to understand how to act within these different environments. Vinten discussed how religious metaphors are common in the business environment to convey meaning, highlighting Charles Handys Gods of Management as one example.
