The power of metaphor in leadership: Lessons from an orange and a plum

When I was five, my dad taught me about planets using an orange and a plum. Over breakfast, he crouched beside me, slowly rotating the fruit in his hands to show how the Earth moved around the Sun. Then he looked at me intently and asked, “If the plum is the Earth and the orange is the Sun… what’s the air around it?”

I can still see that moment as vividly as if it happened yesterday. His simple metaphor didn’t just explain astronomy, it lodged itself in my imagination. Even now, planets look a lot like citrus and stone fruit to me.

That’s the power of metaphor.

Metaphor is one of leadership’s most underused tools. It makes the complex simple. It connects head and heart. It unlocks insight, creates shared meaning, and provides comfort during uncertainty. Neuroscience backs this up: studies from Stanford and Emory show that metaphors activate sensory regions of the brain, making ideas stickier, more memorable, and more emotionally-resonant than literal explanations. Indigenous cultures have always known this. Story, symbol, and metaphor are woven into how wisdom gets passed on.

As a leader, you too can harness the power of metaphor (probably more often than you do currently).

So, when can you bring in metaphor to your leadership practice? 

Here are five moments tailor-made for metaphor:

1. Communicating a vision

Help people see where you’re heading. It’s not just about telling them, but showing them what the future could look like, and what happens when you get there. 
Tip: Borrow from your team’s identity story (Owen Eastwood’s book Belonging is masterful on this.)

2. Navigating tough times

Metaphor helps people process challenge and uncertainty without getting overwhelmed.

3. Leading change

A good metaphor can shift perspectives faster than a 50-page slide deck.

4. Coaching

Metaphors anchor learning and help people access insight they can’t quite articulate literally.

5. Explaining complexity

When the process is gnarly, a metaphor smooths the path.

How to get started using metaphor (without feeling cheesy)

1. Begin with: “It’s like…”

Ask yourself:
What is this challenge like? What are its characteristics? What does it feel like, sound like, smell like?
Write multiple endings to the sentence: “It’s a bit like…” as it applies to your situation or the thing you are trying to communicate about. 

2. Expand your metaphor sources

Nature, mythology, journeys, sports, famous characters, food… Anything sensory and concrete is fair game. Let your right brain out to play. Avoid clichés (iceberg, mountain, North Star…) - unless you refresh them – and see what else you can come up with in their place. 

3. Co-create metaphors

Ask your team:
“If this situation were a metaphor, what would it be?”
Build on each other’s ideas. The best metaphors often begin obscure and end brilliant.

4. Turn metaphors into questions

If the year ahead is navigating a river, ask:

• Where are the calm stretches and where are the rapids?
• What rocks or hidden currents could throw us off course?
• What does “staying in the boat together” look like?
• What paddling techniques or teamwork rhythms do we need?
• What does reaching the open water at the end represent?

Questions make the metaphor come alive.

5. Draw it

Visuals help metaphors land. Even a rough whiteboard sketch works.
Todd Cherches’ book VisuaLeadership is a terrific resource on visual thinking.

6. Revisit the metaphor

Don’t drop it after one meeting. Return to it. Build on it. Let it evolve as your team does.

My dad was a master of metaphor. Thanks to him, I’ll never see the Earth without imagining a plum orbiting an orange. His simple picture helped me understand my world and it stayed with me for life.

As a leader, you have that same opportunity. Use metaphor to leave lasting pictures in people’s minds. Help your team see what you see and make the complex simpler.

You might just discover it’s rocket fuel for your leadership.