Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, 7th Edition
by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal
Core Idea
Leaders usually don’t fail for lack of intelligence or effort—often they fail because they view complex situations through too narrow a lens. This book shows how to think in four dimensions—structure, people, politics, and meaning—so you can see organizations clearly, diagnose problems accurately, and lead with agility.
Big Promise
By learning to shift among multiple frames of understanding, you can respond more effectively to challenges, design stronger organizations, and lead with insight rather than impulse.
Framework Overview
Organizations are not one thing—they are “factories, families, jungles, and theaters.” Bolman and Deal’s Four-Frame Model helps leaders interpret each reality and act with balance and depth.
- Structural Frame: See the organization as a system of roles, goals, and rules. Helps you align structure with strategy and environment to improve performance.
- Human Resource Frame: View the organization as a community of people. Helps you motivate, empower, and build trust by aligning human needs with organizational demands.
- Political Frame: Recognize the organization as a landscape of competing interests. Helps you navigate conflict, build coalitions, and exercise power ethically.
- Symbolic Frame: Understand the organization as a stage for meaning. Helps you shape culture, tell stories, and create rituals that give people purpose and connection.
Practical Payoffs
You’ll learn to:
- Diagnose organizational challenges from multiple perspectives before acting.
- Design structures that fit your strategy and environment.
- Invest in people strategically to build capability and commitment.
- Navigate power dynamics with integrity and influence.
- Shape and sustain a culture through meaning and ritual.
- Lead change that addresses systems, people, politics, and symbols together.
About the Book
Written by Lee G. Bolman (University of Missouri–Kansas City) and Terrence E. Deal (formerly of Harvard, Stanford, and Vanderbilt), this classic integrates theory, research, and leadership practice into a single, usable framework. It’s organized into six parts: understanding organizational complexity, exploring each of the four frames, and integrating them for leadership effectiveness.
Who It’s For
Ideal for leaders who deal with complex systems and want a clearer, more flexible way to think about leadership, management, and change.
Why It Endures
Since its first publication in 1984, Reframing Organizations has remained a cornerstone in leadership education because it offers clarity without oversimplifying complexity. It gives leaders not just tools but a way of seeing.
Final Takeaway
This is not a quick-fix manual but a disciplined way of thinking that makes every leadership challenge more intelligible—and more manageable.
Book Details and Where To Find It
- Authors: Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal
- Page count: 544
- Publication date: September 15, 2021
- Amazon rating: 4.3/5 stars
- Goodreads rating: 3.9/5 stars
- Find this book at your public library or on Amazon: e-book | Audiobook | Print (If you purchase from the Amazon links, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.)