A key function of leadership is the management of meaning. Effective leaders present images that grab our attention and interest. They use language in ways that make it easy and compelling for us to view events from their frames of reference. Leaders frame their vision in ways that help organizational members make sense of the vision, embrace it, see its relevance to their responsibilities, identify next steps in implementing the vision, and feel enthusiasm for it. They communicate with frames and images that build upon each other to construct a reality to which we then want to respond.
Leadership includes managing meaning, which requires skill and risk-taking.
Just like an artist or photographer, when we select a frame for a subject, we choose which aspects or portion of the subject we will focus on and which we will exclude. When we choose to highlight some aspect of our subject over others, we make that aspect more noticeable, more meaningful, and more memorable to others. Our framing adds emphasis or approaches the subject in unique ways. For this reason, frames determine which issues or problems people notice, how they understand and remember issues, and how they evaluate and act upon them. Frames exert their power, not only through what they emphasize, but also through what they omit.