The fight of the frames

The comply, success and moral frame are always competing so we should strive to keep them in balance.

Please read the previous post about the three frames before you read this one.

Depending on the situation, often one or two of the frames are dominant, and another is underrepresented or even out of the equation. You could say that each frame is constantly fighting for attention from us and that the ideal situation is when all three are in sync. Question is then how to get to the ideal situation when there is a disbalance.

Figure: The fight of the frames

Based on the phenomena described before, it is realistic to assume most of what we do as professionals happens in the overlap between the ‘be successful’ and the ‘be legal’ frame (3). This means that, in order to get to the ideal situation, we need to work on bringing the ‘be good’ frame into the equation, either via the ‘be legal’ or the ‘be successful’ frame (respectively 4 and 2).

Though it would be an interesting discussion to talk about how being legal and being good should go hand in hand (4), it will probably not be perceived as very relevant by professionals. After all, in absence of a link to the ‘be professional’ frame, it has no direct link to their work.

To bring back the discussion on what is right or wrong (be good frame) into the work would be both realistic and valuable. If we focus our strategies to promote good on reminding professionals about their humanness, or if we help them to voice their concerns, even if they are fuzzy feelings, in their job, we create more opportunities for being good for them.

In the next post I will explein how each frame has a distinctly different nature, each with its own benefits and handicaps.