On analogy in leadership

Leadership is challenging. I've heard it's also lonely, though I have not yet found that to be true. It is a role outside of most of the roles with which it interacts, and sees in another spectrum in many ways. How does a bee explain the perception of flowers to a creature that can't perceive the ultraviolet spectrum?

And already the analogies begin. There is hardly a conversation I have these days where analogy doesn't creep in. Metaphor would be a less accurate, but not inaccurate term for it. Analogies are metaphors that attempt to make a point. And in my case, my point is usually to explain something.

I have been using analogies long enought that I make them without even consciously considering them. They come to me like the wind, seemingly from nowhere, and unbeckoned. I will begin a sentence, and an analogy blows in the moment I'm looking for a way to make the meaning of my thought clear.

One that has been recurring is the age of business and its maturity level by comparison. Just as we natural creatures age at different paces (and there are differences even in the same species, though less pronounced), business age and mature as they do. In early life, we come into existence and stumble around a lot. There is a phase of rapid growth where a business can suddenly feel like it's big and important and grown up, but that is inevitably followed immediately by a terribly clumsy phase. If a business makes it throught that phase, it comes out pretty mature, though it will continue to gain maturity and wisdom over time.

More specifically, in those younger years, a business is learning all the details of, say, walking or eating. Which muscles to engage in which way move the weight forward but keep things balanced overall? How can one control a spoon and successfully reach one's own mouth? These challenging routines are learned by rote and make the business capable of doing more complex things without having to think about each complexity. You can just walk or eat. Now it's time to think about running or whistling or whatever.

The years that follow are deeply challenging. You think you're starting to figure things out and get it together, and you're growing so well. Then you hit a phase where you're growing so rapidly, you suddenly find yourself occasionally tripping over nothing. Hair is growing in new places, you kinda stink, and what the hell is that growing on your face? In this era, hygiene is crucial. So is practice. The need to mature rapidly is so real, and the desire is there, but you are so, so awkward at the same time. Clean and groomed, you may still find yourself tripping over your own feet, and it is wildly frustrating. Come to think of it, where did all these super huge emotions come from? Hormones.

Ah, but on the other side of that is some semblance of maturity. You persevered and overcome the growth spurts, the sudden onset of new hormones, navigated the wild social dynamics, and figured out how your limbs work at their new length. You may still find yourself drinking something that you don't actually enjoy because it seems like it'll be cool, but you can successfully find your mouth with the glass, and you're no longer dreaming that you showed up without pants. Congratulations.

What I love about a good analogy is that it can communicate a challenge, promise a bright horizon without dismissing the hardship or pain, and maybe deliver an unexepcted laugh. It levels the field between manager and subordinate, taking all the "ick" out of subordinate (or whatever word you substitute for it that is supposed to feel better but never actually does). Using a good analogy humanizes you as well as your audience. It reminds us that we've seen something similar, we've weathered a similar challenge, we've already figured out how to solve this.

We just need to apply those old lessons to the current moment and put in the work.