An Extended Metaphor for Leadership

By Brianna L Weaver

Introduction
I have spent most of my middle school and high school years involved in campaigns for social justice without even realizing I was in a fight. Take for instance my work with Project Unify, an organization that works with special needs students and is all about inclusiveness. I believe and champion for those with mental and learning disabilities to be accepted and have equal opportunities as their peers. After being involved in classes with Dr. Lane Perry at Western Carolina University, I have realized that not everyone sees things the way I do and in some ways that is because of a lack of understanding. As I continue to grow in my knowledge and passion of positively impacting my community, I must explore the connection between leadership and social justice.

This article is a way to share how I see the two concepts using an extended metaphor between a soccer team, leadership and social justice. Now, that may seem like a strange comparison, but that is part of the purpose of an extended metaphor: to find an interesting way to enhance the understanding of a complicated concept like social injustice and leadership with an easier more common concept like a soccer team. The positions and roles on a soccer team can be applied to the necessary components leaders need to inspire social change.

A Metaphor: To shoot or to defend.
It can be to shoot for your goals in life or to shoot for goals on a soccer field just like you can defend your goals in life or defend goals on a soccer field. For a moment... let's think about a soccer team. The players of a soccer team will frame our metaphor.

• The Follower - As a soccer player, the follower is likely a midfield player, meaning that the follower is most comfortable playing midfield, and going wherever the ball goes. They also support the forwards in their efforts to score goals, and make sure that both the offensive players and defensive players are in order. Followers are very important to the start of movements and success of them just as the midfielders are very important to the flow of the game and success of the rest of the team.

• The Manager - As a soccer player, the manager is likely the defenders (defensive players), meaning that the manager is most comfortable defending the 'goal', adjusting to change on the field, and is process oriented. The defenders can on occasion leave their positions to take a ball up the field, but it is important that the rest of the defenders shift and adjust in order to keep the team and defense strong. Managers are very important because of their adaptability and ability to manage change just like the defensive players on a soccer field must be.

• The Leader - As a soccer player, the leader or leaders in this case are likely the forwards (offensive players) this is because they prefer to have the ball and seek to obtain goals, the rest of the team looks to them and often relies on them to get points. Leaders are very important because they often the ones looked to for guidance towards goals or in this case for guidance scoring goals.

• The Social Change Agent - As a soccer player, the social change agent is likely the goalie, who is clearly marked different than the others. The goalie must rely on their own skills and abilities to protect the entire team and recover from all of the team's mistakes. They work somewhat independently from the rest of the team and have to have great patience and persistence. Social Change Agents are very important because they put others before themselves and although they aren't always recognized for their contributions they work silently in the background and often have the most impact, just like goalies who often don't get recognition when their team wins the game but without them they likely would not have won.

Parting Thoughts
Soccer is a passion of mine, and I have spent many years learning how to play different positions and finding the right position that fits my skill set. Likewise, social change is an area I am becoming more and more interested in, and as I explore more about how to be involved, I must consider followership, management, leadership, and social change agency to decide where I fit based on my skill set. Just as I have changed positions in soccer over the years, I see myself trying out different roles in social change until I found not just where I am comfortable (because it is difficult to grow in your comfort zone) but where I will inspire the most change.