Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, 2nd ed. by LeeG. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal
Schools are complex institutions. Many U.S. schools are working to raise the bar of academic achievement under the No Child Left Behind Law. In order to effectively manage a school there are important frames which define a school, giving the administration, faculty and stakeholders a clear mental model of what a school should be for it’s students.
The four frames are:
• The Structural Frame – organization, structure, groups and teams working together
• The Human Resource Frame – people, human resource management, interpersonal and group dynamics
• The Political Frame – power, conflict and coalitions, managing a school as a political agent within an understanding of the political arena
• The Symbolic Frame – culture and symbols, culture in actionBy integrating these frames a leader can begin to create a climate of successful change. Aspects of successful change leadership include knowing how to train people, how to realign what is happening within the school learning community, how to negotiate change between constituencies, and how to successful lead a grieving process that will break through to happy and fruitful success.
Reframing Organizations is a seminal work in educational policy and administration.