Metaphors are powerful conductors for internal change. Even though and expected, sensemaking is different among educational leaders, their ‘giving sense’ to others is witnessed as though they are ‘becoming’ their metaphors (Grove & Panzer, 1989). It is argued that if a leader becomes their metaphor their oral and written narratives will reflect that metaphor. In other words, ‘language itself leads us. Not words as such, but the meaning we have come to attribute to them, the concepts they embody, the mental artefacts they invoke or conjure’ (Thayer, 1988, p. 259). Barry, a school leader, embodies his metaphor in the concept of ‘buffer’. The mental artefacts aim to appeal to the staff: ‘I am the human shield between the [School System and the teachers]—the buffer. . My job is to be the human shield that protects teachers from the excesses of regulators’ [Principal]. If a school leader’s metaphor illuminates who they are, the leader’s narrative explaining their metaphor may provide a window to understand more fully their ‘leader self’, or others.
Dr Judith Norris is a senior lecturer in educational leadership studies. Her thesis 'From Metaphors to Mantras: Principals Making Sense of and Integrating Accountability Expectations' positions her research and practical expertise around the psychosocial processes of leaders working in performative cultures. She holds a Masters from the University of New South Wales, in Educational Administration and utilises her Diploma in Ontological Coaching in her work with leaders and aspirant leaders, notably with their reflective and reflexive practices.
Leadership Threads 