[Lawyers] Understanding Organizations Using the Four Frame Model: A Gateway to More Effective Lawyering

Dan DeFoe JD MS - Adlitem Solutions www.adlitemsolutions.com

Blog – www.psycholawlogy.com

dan@adlitemsolutions.com

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Four Frames . . . .

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Four Frames . . . .

•Structure

•Human Resources

•Politics

•Symbols

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Metaphors - Four Frames

• Factories or Machines [Structure],

• Family [Human Resources],

• Jungle [Politics], and

• Theatres, Temples or Carnivals [Symbols]

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“Frame” means . . . .

•Mental model

• Ideas and assumptions

•Register and assemble information into a coherent pattern

•More comprehensive picture of what is happening and what to do

• Functions: map, tool, lens, orientation, filter, prism, or perspective

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Four Frames Can Help . . . •Clarify

•Decipher,

•Focus,

•“Size things up”

•Navigate, and

•Understand

. . . . the usually complex and often ambiguous organizational landscape.

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Frames Can Show . . . .

• Pieces of organizational life

•Comprehensive picture about how each piece contributes a part

•Areas for attention/intervention

•How to let the “bright” side shine

•How to keep “dark” side in shadows

•How organizational virtues can outweigh vices

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Frames Come From Where . . . .

•Management insight

•Management wisdom

•Social science research from

•Sociology

•Psychology

•Political Science

•Anthropology 8

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How Frames Help Lawyers

•Register and assemble information into coherent pattern

•Gain more comprehensive picture of workplace

• Better understand organizations, how they work, how they should work

• Identify development opportunities

•Assist in evaluating success or failure of change efforts

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Each Frame . . .

•Summary

•Central Concepts

•Leadership challenges

•Associated Metaphor 10

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Structural Frame . . . Machine

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Structural Frame . . . . • Focus on architecture of organization: goals,

structure technology, roles and relationships, coordination

• Responsibilities, division of labor, rules, policies, procedures, systems, and hierarchies which coordinate an organization’s diverse activities into a unified effort relate to this frame.

• Challenge for organizations and their leaders involves designing, maintaining, and aligning structural forms with current circumstances, tasks, technology, the environment, and goals.

• Metaphor - Factory or Machine. 12

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Human Resource Frame . . .Family

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Human Resource Frame . . .

• Emphasizes understanding people and their relationships , individual needs, feelings, fears, prejudices, skills, and development opportunities.

• Focus on and understand the fit between the individual and the organization.

• A lens for organizations to learn how to meet individual needs and train the individual to meet organizational needs.

• The job gets done by persons who feel good about themselves and their work.

• Metaphor - Family. 14

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Political Frame . . . Jungle

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Political Frame • Sees organizations as jungles, arenas, or contests

• Emphasizes power, competition, and winning scarce resources.

• Diverse values, beliefs, interests, behaviors, and skills provide context for resource and power allocation.

• People set agenda, bargain, negotiate, build coalitions, compromise or coerce, and manage conflicts.

• Involves “Who gets what and how. . . . “

• Solutions from political skill and acumen.

• Realities can be toxic, creativity, or innovation.

• Effective managers or leaders guide proper disbursement of power.

• Metaphor – Jungle.

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Symbolic Frame . . . Theatre

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Symbolic Frame • Organizational life is drama and where members’

roles play out everyday.

• Focus on meaning and faith, ritual, ceremony, story, play, and culture challenges leaders to create and maintain faith, beauty, and meaning.

• Context engages head and heart.

• Meaning matters more than results.

• Events and processes more important for expression than production.

• Members’ shared faith and meaning infuse passion, creativity, and soul.

• Rules, policies, and managerial authority matter less.

• Culture, symbol, and spirit provide pathway to organizational effectiveness.

• Metaphor – Theatre, Temple, or Carnival

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Jackson County, Missouri Circuit Courthouse

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Summary – Four Frames & Lawyers

• Whether dealing with situations like Enron, Katrina, the Columbia and Challenger disasters, or tainted Tylenol, misfeasance, malpractice, or harassment or discrimination, for examples, the Four Frame Model can provide a new way to organize thinking and decipher the messy, complicated, complex, and ambiguous world of organizations.

• Lawyers can discover and enjoy new possibilities for reframing, a “powerful tool for gaining clarity, regaining balance, generating new options, and finding strategies that make a difference.”

• The Four Frame Model can provide lawyers a gateway to more effective lawyering. 20

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Conclusion & Thank You!

• See: Bolman, L, & Deal, T. (2008). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass [Chapter 1.].

• See also. Gallos, J. V. “Reframing Complexity: A Four-Dimensional Approach to Organizational Diagnosis, Development and Change.” In Gallos, J. V. (Ed.). Organization Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006.

Dan DeFoe, JD MS Adlitem Solutions

www.adlitemsolutions.com www.psycholawlogy.com

dan@adlitemsolutions.com

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