Running head: THE STRONGEST OF THE FOUR-FRAME MODEL
Bolman & Deal’s Four-Frame Model: My Primary Frame
Shayna Cooke
Virginia Commonwealth University
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THE STRONGEST OF THE FOUR-FRAME MODEL
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The Strongest of the Four-Frame Model
In 1984, Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal sought to express a simplistic, yet
comprehensive, model of leadership that would be viewed as “useful knowledge”, (Bolman &
Deal, 2013, p. 14) for individuals searching for methods to become successful at leading
organizations. After much research on the subject, Bolman and Deal determined that leadership
of organizations could be described and sorted into four major frames – Structural, Human
Resource, Political, and Symbolic (Bolman & Deal, 1984).
The Structural Frame gives insight on viewing a business from a rational angle, focusing
on organization, planning, goals, structure, and coordination. The Structural Frame best aligns
with individuals that have a use-first of Precision and Sequence on the Learning Connections
Inventory. Rules, policies, and procedures are a thoughtful outcome of leadership with the
Structural Frame (Bolman & Deal, 2013).
Human Resources, as a Frame, focuses on the people involved and the relationships
intertwined with those people. A leader that pulls from the Human Resources Frame sees any
organization as a larger family, all working toward a collective goal. Every individual is
recognized for his/her own thoughts and ideas (Bolman & Deal, 2013).
If a leader were most comfortable commanding from a place of power, he/she would find
themselves functioning within the Political Frame. Leaders favoring a Political Frame can be
found working both angles of a conflict without committing to either, in hopes of getting support
of parties on both sides of the issue (Bolman & Deal, 2013).
Finally, the Frame that draws emphasis on “culture, symbols, or spirit”(Bolman & Deal,
2013, p. 16) for organizational success is the Symbolic Frame, and focuses heavily on emotional
attachment to ideas and goals rather than rules and policies or authoritative figures.
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After careful review of these four frames, and some introspection, I believe that my
primary frame of leadership stems from Human Resources. My strongest characteristic of self is
empathy and human connection. When placed in given situations, I find myself leading with
“lateral techniques” (Bolman & Deal, 2013, p. 54) and driving success from within the
organization or group, rather than out front. Part of what makes me a strong educator is the fact
that I recognize human needs and am an excellent read of character. I can look at my students,
and in an instant, I can see where they are in their own sense of self. This character trait allows
me to modify my lessons and plans, in an instant, to reflect the mood of the room. Rather than
dragging my students along my steadfast plan each day, I meet them where they are and we
move together. I attribute my success as an educator to this quality, which, when dealing with
adolescents, is essential.
Working from a Human Resources Frame has helped me to be a good Mentor Teacher to
new, incoming teachers. If I were to use a Structural Frame as my use–first trait, I would
intimidate new teachers by overwhelming them with emphasis on structure of classroom and
policy of organization. Working with new teachers from a Human Resources perspective, I am
able to look at each teacher as an individual and address each person’s needs independently. This
allows me to embrace the strengths of each new teacher and celebrate these while addressing any
shortcomings or inadequacies. The result, I believe, is an individual that feels validated as they
learn to hone their craft in a safe and warm environment.
I utilized my strengths within the Human Resources Frame this year when I organized a
Project-Based Learning (PBL) Cohort, JK-12, at Collegiate. PBL is a proven method of teaching
that creates authentic learning experiences for students and enhances learning in a way that
traditional classroom teaching never has. The problem however, is that switching curriculum
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from a traditional classroom to one that utilizes PBL activities involves a leap of faith and can be
quite scary and intimidating. I am a true believer in this type of education and believe that every
student should be exposed to these types of critical thinking skills. Because of this, I created a
PBL Cohort this year that serves as a committee of educators that are willing to try, and to fail at,
this type of teaching. Though I created this Cohort, I am most definitely leading from within and
coming from a place that celebrates any trial, and failure, because it shows growth and
determination. I would rather teachers try to facilitate learning in new ways, even if it doesn’t
work, rather than perpetuate the old idea that standing in front of the class and lecturing is a
successful means of teaching.
I believe that a skillful leader knows how and when to engage each one of Bolman &
Deal’s Four-Frame Model and I am working on that aspect of my leadership. I can most
definitely pull in the Structural Frame through my Sequence and Precision (LCI) use-firsts, I am
solid with my Human Resources Frame, but, as a scientist, I struggle with the Symbolic Frame
because I have been trained to see things for what they are, not for the ceremony of it. People
cling to symbolism however, and I think it will be a very valuable leadership characteristic to
develop. I also struggle with the Political Frame and this is something that I am working on
constantly. Because I am an empathetic person who arguably feels too much, I find myself
getting overly passionate about issues and I need to learn to sit back, listen, take a moment to see
the situation from all angles, and respond in a measured and thoughtful manner.
Bolman & Deal’s Four-Frame Model shows that truly effective leaders need to be able to
use multiple perspectives with any issue to appear poised and collected. The ability to navigate
between these frames will instill confidence in leadership abilities from the organization and
ensure support of the leader and the administration.
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References
Bolman, L. & Deal, T. (2013). Reframing organization, 5th edition. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
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