Leaders: Frame Your Messages for Maximum Impact - Management Essentials - HarvardBusiness.org

Leaders: Frame Your Messages for Maximum Impact - Management Essentials - HarvardBusiness.org

Leaders: Frame Your Messages for Maximum Impact
8:12 PM Monday April 20, 2009 by Melissa RaffoniHarvardBusiness.org>

Excerpts:>
A manager's job is, quite simply, to motivate people toward achieving a common goal. Succeeding at this job requires an array of communication skills, ranging from delivering a prepared talk to helping team members negotiate the best way to move ahead on a project. No communication skill, however, is more critical to the manager than the ability to frame an issue effectively.>

What exactly does it mean to "frame" or "reframe" an issue? Think about the metaphor behind the concept. A frame focuses attention on the painting it surrounds. Different frames draw out different aspects of the work. Putting a painting in a red frame brings out the red in the work; putting the same painting in a blue frame brings out the blue. How someone frames an issue influences how others see it and focuses their attention on particular aspects of it. Framing is the essence of targeting a communication to a specific audience. >

In their book, Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (Harvard Business School Press, 2002), Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee state that the best leaders act according to one or more of six distinct approaches to leadership: visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pace-setting, and commanding. Their research found that the leaders who achieve the best results practice more than one style on any given day, depending on business needs. >
Skillful framing shapes a manager's communication to reflect the leadership style he needs for a particular situation. Strong leaders are cognizant of the role they want to play at any given time and frame their communications accordingly.>

Consider the following situation: A team is frustrated with the performance of a newly launched product and wants to discontinue it. The manager can help the team in a variety of ways. He can decide that his purpose is to lift morale and convince the team to stay the course. By framing a discussion around the mission of the company and how this product is critical in achieving it, he assumes a visionary role. Or, he might choose to drive the team to come together to brainstorm ways to improve the product, acting as a coach. >

Effective framing can be learned and strengthened with discipline and effort. The real challenge is when you are faced with the unexpected, such as new information or an unforeseen question. Keep your purpose and your audience foremost in mind so you can thoughtfully frame a response that furthers your goals — and strengthens your leadership.>

Read full article: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/hmu/2009/04/leaders-frame-your-messages-fo.php

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This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.