Framing Traps

Framing is a way for people to organize and sort their views on data. In some ways it is just another way of saying "perspective" or "frame of reference." However, as a metaphor, framing works better when we talk about their limitations.  Here is a picture frame:

It is kind of a detailed frame, rather heavy on decoration. It is rather large, probably heavy if made from solid wood...but it is still just a frame. Inside of this frame we can imagine a painting, maybe a Renaissance painter of some renown or a landscape:

Look at that! A whole mountain in a frame. A great many things happen on mountains so this frame could have a great deal of information in it. Landslides, herbivores, carnivores, trees, clouds, hikers, meteorology, and a host of other things can exist within this frame. But it's still just in a frame.

Here we have a great many frames and also a good depiction of our trap. There is a great deal of wall space between those frames and someone on those benches would have to turn around to see all the frames on display. So it is with framing traps in the managerial sense.

One of the best ways, that I know, to avoid a framing trap is education. I have been fortunate to pair my education with time spent developing a career. I feel that this has overlapped at least two of my frames. Education, when done properly, forces one to challenge the border of our frames and to include other ideas or perspectives. Just as I see our mountain in the picture above as a rather boring landscape for a picture, someone else may see it as a still life that represents shrinking natural spaces in our environment. We are both right, however my frame of "boring landscape" is just an opinion while "shrinking natural spaces" can be substantiated with research.

This is another way to avoid a framing trap. Think of the meaning behind data and points of reference. There is generally a message behind the data that goes beyond the data itself. If a department has low turnover and low productivity there may be story behind it. Maybe the employees are loyal to each other but less so to the company. If draconian measures are taken to improve the production those bonds could be severed and the turnover will increase...as will cost.

Seeking perspective and dissenting opinions can also go a long way towards avoiding a framing trap.

Here is another mountain in a frame. It looks different than the mountain in our second picture. This picture seems to be teeming with life. It is a matter of perspective yet somehow I feel this second mountain picture is "fuller" with more to learn from. 

As for dissenting opinions, it is useful to have people that do not always agree with you to provide opinions on what your frames are showing. It takes a leader with a great deal of ego strength to be able to hear that he or she is incorrect but it is invaluable in ensuring that details that may otherwise be missed, aren't. Thin skinned narcissism is not a desirable trait when looking to avoid a framing trap.

All in all, a frame only shows what it is in the frame. Placing many frames side by side still leaves gaps between the frames themselves. If one chooses to use frames as a tool one will have to find ways to color the spaces between them with a great deal of critical thinking and help from one or two devil's advocates. This is yet another reason why leadership training is critical. It is very easy to only view life from a frame but it is yet another thing to learn to move those frames around and challenge what it is in them. A trained leader is much better at the latter.