Doctoral thesis of Philosophy: Metaphor as a means to constructively influence behavioural interactions in project teams

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how metaphor-based interactions can enhance the behavioural interactions in project environments to deliver better outcomes. It documents the processes and findings from an action research program to investigate the impact of combining metaphor, conversation and reflective practice techniques into a new model, the Reflective Performance Cycle (RPC) to stimulate richer and more productive interactions between project team members. The RPC model was used to stimulate constructive dialogue around behaviours within a team context and participants reflected on the impacts this had on their outcomes and performance.