Over the years I have framed a lot of pictures. Back in eighties I was really into botanical prints. I would search antique stores for yellow-edged pictures of iron weed or day lilies and customize mats and frames for each unique print. It was a cool little hobby and I gave away a lot of botanical prints for gifts.
Recently, I wished I would have taken the time to properly frame a print. It is a large replica blueprint of a patent drawing of a boat propeller. It was hanging in the basement of our lake cottage and as things tend to do at a lake, it was exposed to humidity. Because I framed it in plastic – hey, it was cheap, and I was doing three prints – the frame warped. I’m going to have to Re-Frame it.
When we are stretched by a disruption, it can feel like everything surrounding us is buckling. Bending from the pressure of an outside source. I bet you’ve felt it recently. The way you frame your work is bent. The frame around your family is stretched. And most definitely you’ve had days that were entirely framed in some cheap plastic that warped the moment you woke up.
It is time to Re-Frame!
Re-Framing is the second section on my Rubber Band Resilience Curve. This period of re-framing is not all gilded and museum-quality, there is hard work to be done. To turn a disruption into an opportunity it must be re-framed.
Where do you start?
The first step is the language you use. Start switching all your, “I have tos” to “I get to”. This simple shift in perspective makes all the difference in mindset. Imagine if you walked into your staff meeting (weather remote or in person) and stated, “We get to serve our clients today!” Not the old, warped language that may go something like, “What client issue do we have to work on today?” You get to! If you are lucky enough to have clients, residents, or customers then you are lucky enough “to get to” serve them.
What other language examples could you change? Look below this post for a few examples of re-framing language. Print this out. Post it. And make sure to fill in that last spot the next time you say, “have to” or you find negative language sneaking into the framework of your day.
Reframing disruption is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight, especially when the disruption is as big as a global pandemic. But awareness of the broken frame is a first step. And the desire to put a more beautiful or stronger frame around the crisis is what leaders do. Start to imagine your new frame today. Then use the right language to set the opportunities in motion.
Please reach out to me if you would like more resources to reframe your disruptions or to create a strategy to energize your team. Kathy@KathyParry.com
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