Metaphors as a tool of creative management consulting

Metaphors are commonly used in business and management in areas as wide ranging as organizational studies, management consultancy, change management, and branding and advertising.

Holistic flexibility is a conceptual lens for systems practitioners to consider and apply the consummate relationship between holism and flexibility. Holistic Flexibility is a dynamic interplay between a state of mind that has the ability to absorb systemic complexity, and a state of intervention that has the ability to embrace flexibility both in intent and form.

Holistic flexibility is an antithesis to the conventional image of management consulting that we often encounter bound by the state of ego-consciousness. Use of metaphors can bring in a refreshing atmosphere in the client–consultant relationship in which both sides can experience certain benefits.

In my paper I have shared select case narratives from specific consulting projects where I used metaphors as a tool in client engagement. Once a mandate is awarded, at a very high level, a typical consulting engagement goes through the stages of objective setting, situational analyses, reporting, and problem solving. We (the consulting team) took the route of problem structuring rather than the typical stages in each of these projects. Problem structuring is an inclusive approach to drill down an issue to inherent causes of “real issues” with a range of multi-paradigm techniques that otherwise may get treated symptomatically. Each of the situations brought to us its own expectations, complexities, and situational nuances. As a team, we wanted to break conventional consulting formalities and introduce creativity in our problem structuring approach and consequent client reporting.

Following are the benefits that were realized as a result of using metaphors under the context of holistic flexibility:

• Creative tension: Metaphors shake up the consulting monotony represented through the means of defined methodologies and straightjacketed presentations by introducing creative tension in the process. The use of metaphors do not make obvious or definitive descriptions about a problem situation or a solution. But they open up a plethora of references, questions, assertions, and doubts that can offer limitless possibilities for an ego-free appreciation of where one is and where they may want to be.
• Dialogic openness: Creative tension of metaphors provide a fertile ground to both consultants and clients to shed their ego and engage in an intense process of dialogic openness. The consultant and the client is able to co-create the reality as a creative journey to dissolve rather than a problem identification to solve.
• Humble informality: Metaphors can bring in a sense of informality in the highly formal client–consultant relationship. A metaphorical presentation of a complex situation or problem diagnosis can not only introduce a sense of light heartedness in the communication but also open up creative tension and dialogic openness (discussed above). This informality comes with a great sense of humility for the consultant where whatever metaphor they create, as much as it is a representation of their own interpretation, it is also a canvass for the client to impose their own interpretation. 

Management consultants are brought into a situation because of their novelty in perspectives and outside-in thinking. The use of metaphors can act as a powerful tool to foster “two-way” consulting and enable a process of mutual value creation. Such a process can also establish constructive creativity, healthy engagements, effective problem structuring, and personal wellbeing.

The consultant will need to adopt a mature and sensitive approach in using metaphors as tool for creative consulting. The creative process itself is a journey. For a consultant leveraging creativity in a client mandate, they also have to work within the constraints of client expectations, budgets and timelines, in an organization or a situation that is constantly evolving.  

Holistic flexibility offers a pragmatic stand for management consultants to balance creativity, flexibility and client delivery. Continual learning through experience and expert mentoring can prepare consultants to “mix-&-match” creative tools to make the best out of a problem situation both for the client and for themselves.

Use of metaphors in management consulting is an intensely rewarding experience. A sensitive and well-informed approach in using metaphors can enable the pragmatic stance of holistic flexibility to balance holistic thinking and flexibility to enable the creative journey. Creative tension, dialogic openness, and humble informality that metaphors bring in as a tool for management consulting can go a long way in realizing this vision for the management consulting profession itself.

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