Early in my management consulting business, I learned the power of business metaphors. And of reframing problems and solutions with different metaphors to gain support for achieving certain organizational objectives and personal goals. Framing is one way of seizing leadership opportunities. It’s all about how you manage meaning with words, the central task of leadership. Talk is actually the resource you use to get things done. So, anyone who wants to change thinking and get things done pays close attention to metaphors, the very best descriptive lens
Louis Pondy, one of the more effective management scholars, emphasized that leaders’ effectiveness lies in their “ability to make activity meaningful” for others. Effective leaders “give others a sense of understanding what they are doing.” Managers, in contrast, pay attention to how things get done, while leaders pay attention to what events and decisions mean.
The fundamental tool of making or creating meaning is the ability to frame. Framing not only makes sense of an activity or process, but it also sets forth the character and significance of a subject.
Framing and business
In complex and chaotic business environments, there is usually a lot of maneuverability around “the facts.” But if there is any uncertainty or ambiguity around facts, the game is about constructing reality, through framing, leading others to action.