Author Note

This article was inspired by a reading from my doctoral program in Organizational Innovation at National University. I started seeing connections between the Four Frames model and the Challenger model I use in practice. It seemed worth exploring. Turns out, there is something of real value here, and I would be interested to hear whether readers see it the same way.

Abstract

This article introduces a dual-reframing model for innovation leadership that integrates the Four Frames model (Bolman & Deal, 2021) with the Challenger Sale framework (Dixon & Adamson, 2011). While the Four Frames model helps leaders understand their organizations through multiple internal perspectives, the Challenger model applies reframing externally to influence stakeholders by challenging assumptions and revealing new insights. Drawing on case studies from higher education, nonprofit, and health sectors, the article demonstrates how internal reframing supports learning and system understanding, while external reframing drives persuasion and adoption. Applied within the six-phase Innovation Funnel (Identify, Learn, Work, Develop, Present, Synthesize), dual reframing transforms innovation into a continuous cycle of sensemaking and storytelling.

Keywords: innovation leadership, reframing, Four Frames model, Challenger model, Creative Confidence, Innovation Funnel

I. Introduction

Innovation leadership requires both understanding and influence. Leaders must see complex systems clearly and help others see new possibilities. During my doctoral work, I investigated the Four Frames model (Bolman & Deal, 2021) and realized how closely its approach parallels the Challenger Sale model (Dixon & Adamson, 2011), a framework I have used for years in strategy and consulting.

Each uses reframing as a catalyst for change, yet in opposite directions. The Four Frames model focuses inward, teaching leaders to interpret complexity within organizations through four lenses: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. The Challenger model faces outward, using reframing to disrupt a client’s mental model and provoke new thinking.

When these two practices come together, they form a complete cycle of innovation: reframing internally to understand and reframing externally to influence. Within the Innovation Funnel, these capabilities connect insight to adoption and turn learning into leadership.

II. Theoretical Foundations

The Four Frames Model

The Four Frames model invites leaders to see organizations as complex, multifaceted systems.

1. Structural: logic, roles, rules, and policies.
2. Human Resource: people, needs, and relationships.
3. Political: power, conflict, and scarce resources.
4. Symbolic: culture, meaning, and ritual.

By shifting between frames, leaders expand their diagnostic range and avoid “frame blindness.” This internal reframing builds understanding before action, helping leaders interpret why problems persist and where leverage lies.

The Challenger Model

Dixon and Adamson’s Challenger model defines reframing as the first step in its Teach–Tailor–Take Control approach. A Challenger does not merely respond to need; they create it by teaching the client a new way to think. The model depends on insight, helping others see what they have missed, and tension, the productive discomfort that motivates change.

This external reframing reshapes a stakeholder’s worldview, revealing unseen risk or opportunity. The goal is not agreement but movement.

Toward Dual Reframing

Together, the two models complete the leadership equation: internal reframing for sensemaking and external reframing for storytelling. The first brings clarity; the second brings commitment. Innovation requires both.

III. Dual Reframing in Practice

Innovation work often falters at one of two points: leaders misunderstand the system they are trying to change, or they fail to convince others to adopt the change once it is designed. Dual reframing addresses both gaps.

A. Internal Reframing: Seeing the Organization Differently

In the Identify and Learn phases of the Innovation Funnel, internal reframing helps leaders look beyond surface issues to understand what is really happening inside the system. At UC San Diego Recreation, the Design Lab facilitated a collaborative process that brought together directors and associate directors who each held different perspectives on the department’s future. What first appeared as a need for a clearer strategy revealed a deeper issue: the organization lacked a shared sense of alignment and communication between levels of leadership.

Applying the Four Frames model provided language and structure for understanding these dynamics. The structural frame revealed overlapping priorities and unclear decision pathways. The human resource frame highlighted a desire among staff to feel more connected to the department’s purpose. The symbolic frame showed that people valued the culture but needed new stories to express where the department was heading.

By reframing the challenge internally, the conversation shifted from “How do we plan better?” to “How do we lead together?” That insight created the foundation for a unified vision that now guides Recreation’s next phase of growth.

B. External Reframing: Helping Others See Differently

In the later stages of the Innovation Funnel, Present and Synthesize, leaders move from understanding to influence. The Challenger model offers a framework for communicating insights in ways that reshape how others see the organization and its potential.

At Meals on Wheels San Diego County, the leadership team applied this approach through a strategic planning process designed to translate insights into action. What began as an effort to align priorities internally became a catalyst for how the organization was perceived externally. Through structured collaboration, facilitated problem identification, and clear prioritization, the team reframed their role from a traditional service nonprofit to an innovation leader in senior care.

The 2021–2024 Strategic Plan presented Meals on Wheels not only as a provider of essential nutrition and support but also as an organization advancing new solutions to address social isolation, healthcare integration, and community partnerships. This external reframing helped stakeholders see the organization as a strategic partner in the senior services ecosystem rather than a recipient of support.

That new narrative has since strengthened collaborations, including an emerging partnership with ElderHelp, and positioned Meals on Wheels San Diego County as a hub of innovation within the region’s senior care network. The strategic plan became both a roadmap for growth and a communication tool that elevated the organization’s leadership voice in the community.Reframing runs through every phase of the Innovation Funnel. It begins with understanding and ends with influence, connecting learning and adoption into one continuous process.

Identify

Leaders use internal reframing to diagnose the real challenges across structural, human, political, and symbolic systems. At this stage, the focus is on clarity—seeing the organization as it truly is before trying to influence others.

Learn

Reframing deepens understanding of the system. Internally, leaders explore context and constraints. Externally, they begin to test how stakeholders currently define the problem, surfacing where assumptions or narratives diverge.

Work

In this phase, frame-shifting becomes collaborative. Teams use internal reframing to spark creative dialogue and reduce blind spots, while externally introducing new perspectives that challenge old ways of thinking.

Develop

Feedback is reframed as learning. Inside the organization, leaders refine understanding; externally, they begin shaping a value story that resonates with early adopters.

Present

Internal alignment becomes critical. Leaders integrate multiple frames into a cohesive message while externally reframing stakeholder assumptions to create clarity, urgency, and belief.

Synthesize

Finally, reframing solidifies meaning. Internally, teams use the symbolic frame to embed learning into culture. Externally, they communicate outcomes to influence the broader ecosystem and reinforce their role as innovators.

Reframing is not a single step in the process—it is the throughline of innovation itself.

IV. Implications for Innovation Leadership

A. Building Creative Confidence

Creative confidence thrives when people feel both understood and influential. Internal reframing nurtures psychological safety by clarifying systems and roles. External reframing empowers communicative confidence by demonstrating how insight can change minds. Within organizations measured by the Creative Confidence Index (CCI), reframing provides both diagnostic clarity and behavioral reinforcement.

B. Adaptive Leadership in Action

Adaptive leadership is about mobilizing people to face challenges they would rather avoid. Internal reframing equips leaders to interpret those challenges. External reframing equips them to mobilize others toward resolution. The innovative leader’s role is not to have the answers but to host the reframing.

C. Embedding Reframing in the Innovation Funnel

When reframing is practiced deliberately through all six phases, it becomes the operating rhythm of the Innovation Funnel.

• Identify and Learn focus on understanding the system.
• Work and Develop focus on testing assumptions.
• Present and Synthesize focus on influencing and embedding.

Teams learn to switch frames naturally, seeing differently inside and communicating differently outside.

D. From Skill to Literacy

Reframing is more than a technique; it is a literacy, a language of perspective. Training programs like the Creative Confidence System can utilize the Four Frames model for internal diagnosis and Challenger techniques for external influence, providing participants with both the cognitive range and communicative dexterity to lead innovation with intention.

V. Conclusion and Future Directions

The integration of internal and external reframing provides a complete map for innovation leadership. The Four Frames model gives leaders the tools to understand; the Challenger model gives them the tools to persuade. Within the Innovation Funnel, these perspectives transform innovation into a cyclical process of learning and adoption.

Future research can explore how reframing capability correlates with creative confidence, how it develops over time within teams, and how it predicts innovation adoption. For now, one truth is clear: innovation begins when leaders see differently and succeeds when others do too.

References

• Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (7th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
• Dixon, M., & Adamson, B. (2011). The Challenger Sale: Taking control of the customer conversation. Portfolio/Penguin.
• Heifetz, R. A., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Harvard Business Press.
• Popović, K. (2016). Satellite Marketing: Using social media to create engagement. Dog Ear Publishing.
• Popović, K. (2018). How creativity can change the world, one bad drawing at a time. TEDx SDSU Talk.
• Popović, K. (2024). Innovation Funnel Framework. The Idea Guy®.
• Popović, K. (2025). Creative Confidence Index. The Idea Guy®.