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Shed Light on Leadership with Metaphor (Management Project)

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ABSTRACT

Leadership has been studied from many angles. But in my study, I study leadership with metaphors, hoping to provide some new insights. With metaphors, I want to seek an answer what can leaders do to integrate themselves to lead better. In this time, leadership is no longer constrained within one domain. With rapid changes and merging among companies and industries, people expect leadership in a broader range of contexts and domains. I also want to find what leaders can do to manage their influence well, to get it across domains.

I look into various fields including psychology, culture, leadership and others to gain knowledge. With the help of metaphor, I break the questions into answerable parts and start my research. As for methodology, I adopt systems approach.

I conduct eight interviews with leaders from diversified backgrounds regarding age, gender, industry, position and family status. But one thing in common is that they are all highly engaged in multi-cultural or multi-domain interaction. By studying their experience, learning their past and their approach, I come up with eight patterns of influence from the interviews, showing their uniqueness in style and approach to integrate themselves and to convey influence beyond domains.

In theoretical study, I further compare the patterns to locate the common parts and reveal the different parts. Then I introduce a concise frame and analyze further. Finally, by combining books, articles and analysis, I provide the advice on what leader can do to expand their influence. Finally, I suggest a few points for leaders to integrate themselves to be better leaders and seek their styles. Then, using their styles or patterns, develop and deliver their influence beyond domains.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In my study, I review a few books both in theory and in practice along with the articles I found relevant. The books range from psychology, management, leadership, time management, well-being of mind and body and intercultural study. Some of the books are among the reading list of my master program in the university, which also gave me ideas in the first place. Some are used to build a good logic to argue my topic in a logical and understandable way as well as in a rational frame.

To start, I initiated my research from the angle of psychology, which I think is crucial to help leaders to process their experience and emotions. The resources are mostly from the psychology in theory. To make the abstract theories easy to understand, I then explain how the knowledge in psychology can be transferred to work in a general way with a practical book aiming the general public.

METHODOLOGY

My idea of this thesis comes from a water metaphor, so I naturally refer to the literature regarding that to illustrate my logic more tho roughly. Besides, my understanding got evolve d with my research. I try to demonstrate my understanding of the questions I work on to the reader in a more vivid form. So I seek help ‘from metaphors to intensify my ideas’ (Arbnor & Bjerke 2009, p. 239).

Hum an seek help to perceive and create knowledge with metaphors. ‘Metaphors are seen as important organizing devices in thinking and talking about complex phenomena ’ (Alvesson & Spicer 2011, p. 31). We use that to attempt to understand one element with the on es known before (Morgan 2006, p. 4). In this case, I hope to shed light on leadership with the help of metaphor. By doing this, I hope I can present another understanding or even insight.

RESULTS AND PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

It seems to me that each leader develops his or her own style or pattern to integrate, to lead and even expand influence beyond domains. In preliminary analysis of the interview script, the pattern for each leader naturally emerges from the sentences with striking characteristics. In this part, I will firstly show the reader the pattern of each subject in the interview.

By combining the distinguishing traits each leader showed with an object or pattern, I hope the reader will find it more understandable. After all the patterns are clearly shown, I then compare them to seek the similarities and differences to prepare for the next part. At the end of this part, I conclude with eight patterns with the details they indicate to give the impression why I use metaphor again before going deeper to the next section.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

Shed Light on Leadership with Metaphor How Chinese Leaders Integrate Them selves to Lead Better and even Lead beyond Domains Yonglin Jia. Theoretical Analysis After showing the patterns and comparing them, now we can move on to the part of what leaders can do if they want to expand their influence. There are many circumstances that are beyond our control, but there are still things we can work on to improve, to promote and to refine.

‘To answer the question what factors promote the successful leader, Bennis and Nanus (1985 cited in Johannessen & Skalsvik 2013, p. 17) found four dimensions for the question: vision, purpose, confidence and creativity’. Although decades have passed, these four classic points are still useful to guide our effort to develop leadership. Considering the influence pattern study is comparatively new and immature study, I think it is a good combination of them. The traditional foundation provides solid ground to support the study and defines it in a range in case it loses focus. With a range of theories and input from articles, this part goes deeper into what actions may be considered for leaders who try to identify their pattern, improve or even step out of the box and the logic caging them.

CONCLUSION

At the beginning of the research, the topic starts from an idea that combines water ripple with leadership. During the research, the input from other leaders enriches this topic into a wider range of patterns. After comparing each unique pattern, I find the similarities for leaders to refer to and the potential differences to pay attention to in their way to excellence.

To answer my questions what leaders can do to integrate themselves and lead better and even respond to various contexts to deliver their leadership influence beyond domains, I have points for that. First of all, leaders shall value diversity both in themselves and in the contexts. A united, integrated and complex self can be one answer to my questions. Leaders are like big houses; t here are many rooms and corners lodging our potentials.

We shall look for them rather than just leave them in the dust. We are fortunate enough to live in a time full of possibilities, it would be a pity if leaders shun away from changes and challenges just because they were unable to or don’t bother to integrate the resources they have already got in themselves. At least that is what leader can do as a start. If leaders can break, melt and blend all their experience with their competency, knowledge and personality as a whole.

Then they are powerful leaders, in this case, a giant rock. As for contexts, there are more differences and nuances than we imagine when we take a closer look. It is an interesting thing that even we talk about diversity and new thing; we are more reluctant than we thought to embrace them. This reluctance can easily lead to our neglecting many importance variance and nuances in life. Pay more attention to this fact, respond in the way that domain, that group of followers deserves rather than leading in an unchanged manner. If they open up their mind, they are the rock can response to any surface, generating ripples far and wide.

Source: Linnaeus University
Authors: Yonglin Jia

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