Benefits and Risks of Reframing

Frames provide reference points and guidelines for scenarios which can direct action
in high-stake circumstances. By changing your reference point, you can change how you
appear, what you do, and how your actions are perceived. The essence of reframing is
examining the same situation from multiple vantage points. The effective leader changed
lenses when things are not going according to plan or when things get confusing. Reframing is
a power strategy as it offers the promise of new options. However, it is no guarantee that
alternate strategies will be successful. Each spot has distinct advantages, but also blind-spots
and shortcomings.

The structural frame ignores everything that falls outside the rational scope of tasks,
procedures, policies, and organisation charts. Structural thinking can overestimate the power
of authority and underestimate the authority of power. Paradoxically overreliance on
structural assumptions and a narrow emphasis on rationality can lead to an irrational neglect
of human, political, and cultural variables crucial to effective action

Adherents of the human resource frame sometimes cling to romanticised ideals of

human nature, in which everyone hungers for growth and collaboration. When they are too
optimistic about integrating individual and organisational needs, they may neglect structure
and the stubborn realities of conflict and scarcity

The political frame captures dynamics that the other frames miss, but it has its own
limits. A fixation on politics easily becomes a cynical self-fulfilling prophecy, reinforcing conflict
and mistrust while sacrificing opportunity for rational discourse, collaboration and hope.
Political acton too often is interpreted as amoral, scheming and oblivious to the common good.

The symbolic frame offers powerful insight into fundamental issues of meaning and
belief, as well as possibilities for bonding people into a cohesive group with a shared mission.
But its concepts are subtle and elusive; effectiveness depends on the artistry of the user
Symbols are sometimes mere fluff or camouflage, the tools of a scoundrel who seeks to
manipulate the unsuspecting or awkward gimmicks that embarrass more than energise people
at work. But in the aura of an authentic leader, symbols bring magic to the workplace