We Are All Chimeras: Promoting Unity, Diversity, and Ingenuity Through Metaphorical Storytelling

Abstract

Using a mythological creature, the Chimera, and organizational metaphor analysis to guide the process of crafting stories, we focus this chapter on how professionals can, and do, envision themselves and their organizations as multifaceted or hybrid organisms—reflecting on their past, present, and future possibilities. The aim is to find the value of diversity of particular communities while also promoting collective, collaborative identities. This chapter and workshops on this topic have been inspired by Gareth Morgan’s Imaginization and a case study at an art and design college where students, faculty, and staff adopted as the school mascot the Chimera: a fantastic beast from Greek mythology that has come to mean any dazzling, seemingly impossible, or ingenious combination of things.

From this beginning, we imagine what could be possible if we embraced the Chimera as a personal icon. In today’s world full of possibility, with the opportunity to craft multiple personae on- and off-line, we choose to playfully explore characteristics that might seem too risky for everyday life. The more we exercise our ingenuity to create alternative versions of ourselves, the more we are able to reach beyond our ordinary limitations and expectations—to envision new stories and new futures.