A pious plea before the Christmas party: Let's drop the Champions League talk!
At least verbally, managers like to play in the top league, climb Mount Everest and heroically battle against the fiercest storms. But many metaphors are just a diversionary tactic.
Managers often use metaphors in speeches to motivate employees, but these can have unintended effects. According to Sonja Sackmann, a German professor, metaphors can carry complex meanings and lead to misinterpretation. For example, the metaphor of gardening may imply that managers should control and direct employees, while the metaphor of climbing Mount Everest may suggest that egoism is acceptable.
Additionally, metaphors may not be relatable to all employees, and can shift responsibility away from managers and onto external circumstances. Experts suggest that authentic experiences and shared memories can be more effective in motivating employees than metaphors.
Written by urgent.news from NZZ Wirtschaft's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
