Discussion

The Four Frames

STRUCTURAL LEADERS: emphasize rationality, analysis, logic, facts, and data. They are likely to believe strongly in the importance of clear structure and well-developed management systems.  A good leader in the structural leader's view is someone who thinks clearly, makes the right decisions, has good analytic skills, and can design structures and systems that get the job done.

HUMAN RESOURCE LEADERS: emphasize the importance of people. They endorse the view that the central task of management is to develop a good fit between people and organizations. They believe  in the importance of coaching, participation, motivation, teamwork, and good interpersonal relations. A good leader in the view of a human resource leader is a facilitator and participative manager who supports and empowers others.

POLITICAL LEADERS: believe that managers and leaders live in a world of conflict and scarce resources.  The central task of management is to mobilize the resources needed to advocate and fight for the unit’s or the organization’s goals and objectives. Political leaders emphasize the importance of building a power base: allies, networks, coalitions. A good leader to a political leader means an advocate and negotiator who understands politics and is comfortable with conflict.

SYMBOLIC LEADERS: believe that the essential task of management is to provide vision and inspiration. They rely on personal charisma and a flair for drama to get people excited and committed to the organizational missions.  A good leader in their view is a prophet and visionary, who uses symbols, tells stories, and frames experience in ways that give people hope and meaning.

Your Scores

Your raw scores for each of the four frames, on a scale from 6 to 24, are:

                                              Structural: 12

                                              Human Resources: 18

                                              Political: 14

                                              Symbolic: 16

Your Percentile Scores

Your raw scores alone do not provide a full picture of your leadership orientations in relation to other leaders'.  Most leaders rate themselves considerably higher on the human resources and structural frames than the political and symbolic frames. Paradoxically, Bolman and Deal have found that the political and symbolic frames, which may puzzle or even repel many, are actually more critical for effective leadership. To get a more accurate picture of your frames orientation, determine your percentile rankings using the table below, which is based on a sample of more than 700 managers in business, education, and government.  Locate each of your four scores in the appropriate frame column and then look at the Percentile column to see the percentile range for that frame score. 

What Your Scores Mean

Look at your highest score, focusing particularly on your percentile scores  -- this is likely your primary leadership orientation, the way you instinctively think about and approach leadership. If you have some high scores (above the 75th percentile for example) and some low scores (below the 25th percentile), your results suggest that you have distinct preferences for some frames over others.  On the other hand, if your scores are similar (all your scores are fairly close to the 50th percentile), you have a more balanced orientation that doesn't lean strongly toward any one of the four approaches.      

Next Steps