The selection of the metaphors is perhaps the most contentious aspect of the Seven Sides of Educational Leadership. It was of interest that Steven Downes recently commented positively on the selection of metaphors and then went on to suggest his own:
"....my metaphors for educational leadership are a bit different: the terraformer, the mad scientist, the bioengineer, the starship builder, the extraterrestrial, the navigator, and the guys on Star Trek who wear the red shirts."
In many ways this can be taken an endorsement for the multiple metaphor approach and people will always feel more affinity towards some metaphors which have a deeper personal significance to them than to others.
However, the metaphors which feature in the Seven Sides of Educational Leadership have emerged and been tested over a ten year period in a variety of education settings. It is the collective influence of the metaphors which shape the culture. It would be interesting to find out what type of culture might be created by Steven's metaphors - but one thing is for sure- it would be a very different culture from that created by reference to the Seven Sides of Leadership.
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