Metaphors and mindfulness

The mighty metaphor

"To be a master of metaphor," Aristotle says in his Poetics, "is the greatest thing by far." And a master is generally someone who is a mindful, careful, and conscientious deployer of their craft—not a fledgling user that is random, reckless, and mindless.

Sadly, though, with language being the democratic thing that it is (as it should be), nothing stops a careless user of metaphors (or language, more generally) from using them as they please, with little concern for the consequences of misuse, intentional or otherwise.

What consequences, one might ask. Let me explain.

Long-term consequences

When they say, "The pen is mightier than the sword," for example, I do not see that only as a matter of writerly pride but also as a reason for caution: The pen is mightier than the sword, so do not brandish it irresponsibly.

I see a similar risk with metaphors because metaphors, along with similes and several other figures of speech in language, have been known to possess the ability to bypass the conscious mind, on occasion, and engage directly with the subconscious through images and impressions, thereby implanting seeds far deep in the psyche. And seeds, by definition, tend to sprout and grow and bear fruit. So, you see, careless use of metaphors can fructify into undesirable results in the long run, so a certain level of mindfulness and restraint are in order.

Corporate-speak and corporate culture

And, may I add, this is especially relevant to the corporate world because, as has been well documented through numerous studies, the language that we use can both directly and indirectly affect our worldview and, as a result, behavior. Applied to the corporate world, this means that corporate-speak can have quite an indelible influence on corporate culture.

So, if you are a leader who has even a passing interest in the culture of your team or organization, you might want to sit up and take note of some of the problematic metaphors that your team members (or you) might be throwing around rather mindlessly and, if you can, try to imagine what bugbears and goblins and monsters these metaphors can invoke over time in the collective psychological landscape of your team or organization.

A few examples

Let's consider only a few infamous examples to see what I'm talking about here.

• To push someone into the deep end of the pool: No, the image and the impression here do not represent innocent fun or motivational challenge. This image can be terrifying and scarring for some minds. If you will not do this in real life—well, you can be arrested for felony, I would think, if you did that in real life—there is no reason to use it as a metaphor in the corporate world, either. While modern, progressive organizations are trying their best to create a culture of not only physical safety but also psychological safety, the false bravado of some misguided leaders, managers, and seniors who regularly use such metaphors when talking to juniors or new hires can end up sowing the seeds of fear psychosis.
• War and danger metaphors, such as "trooper," "Navy seal," and "firefighter": With all due respect to war veterans, soldiers, and serving officers everywhere, let me ask this: Why do we need to portray work as war, when war itself has always been a problematic pursuit in human history? Pray, how do these war metaphors help build a reassuring mental picture to represent the ideal of the calm, stress-free and almost sage-like insights, efficiency, and productivity of highly intellectual knowledge workers in plush and well-stocked air-conditioned offices? On the one hand, such metaphors casually insult those who are literally braving bullets and landmines and ambushes and mortar shelling so that the rest of the society can focus on the more constructive aspects of civil life. On the other hand, such metaphors can make employees with a pacifist bent of mind dread going to the office and facing each new day with hope and good cheer. At least I don't want to wake up every day to the thought of going to war! And worst of all, such metaphors can also give the already adrenaline-drunk, belligerent employees in every team the necessary cultural climate to keep finding excuses to wage wars, pick quarrels, and invent conflicts with someone or the other in office on an everyday basis. Think about it: If we are striving to build an organizational culture of friendly collaboration and intellectual efficiency, doesn't it stand to reason that it would be counterproductive to perpetuate and glorify images of war and enmity, which in turn can only breed mistrust and suspicion and espionage and sabotage and whatnot! After all, it is said that all is fair in love and war, so if you portray the workplace as a battlefield, you are necessarily empowering the belligerent and the unscrupulous and shortchanging the meek and earnest ones, who when they find that they can neither contribute nor thrive in such a war-torn environment will eventually move out.
• "Work hard; party harder," party animal, and rockstar metaphors: Okay, once and for all now, not everyone is or aspires to be a party animal. Or a rockstar. There are many many efficient employees who are brought up on a different ethos, one that posits that the antithesis of work is not party or play but silent relaxation and unwinding at peace. A modern work environment that constantly reinforces the notion that the most visible, loudest, and "fun" team member is a hero is bound to either alienate the ones who think and feel differently or, worse, promote hypocrisy, with employees trying to conform to this imposed culture by pretending to enjoy boisterous partying and silly socializing in the name of "having fun." This kind of falseness is bound to severely curb authenticity and fester resentment. Seriously now, is that the culture we want to build or promote in the name of team building? And oh, about "rockstar," believe me, there can be many for whom the image of a rockstar can bring on inconvenient mental associations with being flashy and arrogant, substance abuse, dubious cults, and so on. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting, even for a brief moment, that such associations are either necessary or valid. I'm merely pointing out that metaphors often speak directly to the subconscious mind, that the subconscious mind works more through images, impressions, and associative memory than through logic and facts, and that the subconscious mind governs and influences human behavior to a far greater extent than does the conscious mind.

In summary, if you are not deliberate about your choice and use of metaphors, you might end up discouraging, alienating, and offending valuable, conscientious employees, albeit inadvertently, while at the same time also disproportionately empowering some troublemakers, sowing the seeds of what will eventually become a team or organizational culture that reeks of irreversible toxicity.

Metaphors are powerful language tools. Learn how to use them properly. Use them responsibly.

And most important, don't weaponize them.