Leadership is the art of reframing.

Let me explain.

If you put a green frame around a picture it will accentuate the green in the picture. If you replace it with a red frame it will draw attention to the red.

What does that have to do with leadership? Leaders are really good at putting the right frame around the right picture! Good leaders are good framers!

A good coach knows how to reframe a game at halftime. A good psychologist knows how to reframe a problem. And a good parent knows how to reframe spinach–the vegetable that will give you bulging biceps like Popeye.

Leaders are really good at putting the right frame around a vision. Good preachers frame their messages with an organizing metaphor. They frame biblical truths in ways that make people say I’ve never thought about it that way before. Good worship leaders know how to frame a worship set in a way that will draw people into God’s presence.

FYI–I touch on the topic of reframing in my book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.

When you cross paths with a lion do you see a 500 pound problem or a Big Hairy Audacious Opportunity? It all depends on the frame!

I honestly believe that every problem can be reframed as an opportunity if we’re genuinely living to glorify God.