The Four Leadership Lenses

Identify your dominant leadership style

Recently, I spoke with someone who had been promoted at their company. They told me that in order to succeed, they needed to be more political. They also said that to benefit the organization, they needed to be better able to navigate complex organizational dynamics and make strategic decisions.

This made me think of Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal's four frames of leadership: structural, political, symbolic, and human relations. These frames invite us to learn which frame(s) we are more oriented to and how we might find a greater balance to better show up as leaders in our organizations.

Being able to understand complexity is crucial for the success of a leader. 

We need to be able to frame hard concepts quickly, synthesize data, and build teams that can imagine a different future.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at what each of these frames entails.

Structural Frame

Leaders who use this approach to make change focus on the structures set, the plan, execution and adjustments. Changing organizational structures requires that goals are clearly defined, there’s little conflict and confusion, and there’s an understanding of the connections between actions and outcomes.

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This frame views businesses as well-structured machines where everything has a specific place and function. Leaders using this lens focus on clear roles, rules, and goals, emphasizing efficiency, organizational charts, and defined processes.

In a large organization like Mastercard or Procter & Gamble (P&G), leaders who exemplify the structural frame focus on meticulous organizational planning and execution. Clear roles, rules, and goals make these organizations function as well-structured machines. To optimize organizational efficiency, these leaders excel at thorough preparation, implementation focus, and strategic experimentation.