Name and Frame

Disrupted much? 

If you’re not, you may not be paying attention. It happens all the time (especially when we are convinced everything is going just fine). 

There are those big disruptions that rock your organization for a long time:

• the pandemics

• the hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes

• the policy changes that decimate your revenue line for the foreseeable future

You may have heard the acronym VUCA tossed around — Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity. It may not be very catchy, but once you learn it, it’s hard to wipe from your memory. 

• Volatility is speed – how fast change is coming at you.

• Uncertainty is not knowing what’s coming next – what the chain of events will look like. 

• Complexity is the tangle of moving parts. 

• Ambiguity is the head-scratcher moments when even the “why” or “what it means” isn’t clear yet. 

The term perfectly describes the maelstrom of events that leaders navigate with increasing frequency as the world changes with increasing speed. It’s no wonder leaders (and their teams) feel disoriented.

But then there are smaller disruptions that cause more time-bound change that you can chalk up to the realities of organizational life – not exactly VUCA-worthy, but still enough to throw the organization off balance:

• the jarring exit of your chief financial officer, development director, program director, social media manager, bookkeeper (you get the picture)

• that potentially brand-damaging sure-to-go viral post 

• the event venue that mistakenly booked your organization on another group’s night. 

It may not be VUCA, but it’s all unsettling – not just for you, but for your team, your board, and the communities and donors that may crave protection from the upset. 

You don’t have a crystal ball. You probably have no idea what might happen. Still, you need to steady the ground – make the messiness feel a little more orderly. 

That’s where “NAME and FRAME” comes in. Let me explain. 

Always, and especially facing constant change, a leader’s job is to simplify an issue for the many individuals and groups of stakeholders that rely on them – helping everyone see through the fog. Here’s how I invite leaders to communicate during times like these: 

NAME and FRAME.

NAME the issue clearly, transparently, and as simply as possible:

• Here’s what’s happening

• Here’s what I know

• Here’s what I don’t know

FRAME the issue within the context of mission and strategy

• Here’s why this is important (or maybe not as important as it may seem)

• Here’s what we are doing about the parts we can do something about, including taking care of the team

• Here’s when you will hear from me next, when I hope to have more information.

“Name and Frame” is a tool, not just for bringing clarity, but for also calming the nervous system of your organization – the collective OM that gets everyone to accept reality and act where they can. 

When that disaster hits – when a moment of panic grips you by the throat – remember that is what happens to everyone on your team.  We all pivot into fight-flight-freeze together. 

After you take your deep breath, remember that your job is to be as clear as you can be and as reassuring and refreshingly honest as possible. The clarity and tone of your communications will bring either calm or panic – I suggest your goal be as close to serenity as possible for all. 

Chaos may be hard to figure out in the moment, but events usually follow a reliable rhythm – a wave that you can surf once you get to know the waters. They don’t feel orderly when you’re inside them — they feel random, pressing, and sometimes personal. But stepping back, you can think of crisis leadership in three broad phases:

STABILIZE

The top priority is to help everyone find their footing. People want to know: Am I safe? Do my leaders know what’s happening? Is anyone in charge? In this phase, information-gathering is critical, but so is communication. Silence breeds speculation, which quickly adds to the instability itself. 

A leader who names the situation creates a sense of equilibrium, even if the facts are incomplete. Remember: Here’s what’s happening. Here’s what we know. Here’s what we don’t know yet.

ADAPT

Once the immediate dust begins to settle, attention shifts to what we’re going to do about it. This is the adaptive phase — mobilizing resources, setting short-term priorities, and clarifying roles. In uncertainty, people crave direction, but they don’t need perfection. They need to know where to focus energy. 

This is where framing the issue in the context of mission and strategy is essential. Framing provides direction: “Here’s why this matters. Here’s what we’re focusing on. Here’s what can wait.” It doesn’t solve every problem, but it ensures energy flows in the right direction rather than scattering.

RECOVER AND LEARN

When the immediate change subsides, it’s tempting to rush back to business as usual. But the most effective leaders pause to reflect: What did we learn? How can we prepare better next time? 

Recovery isn’t just about patching holes. It’s about restoring confidence and reinforcing trust. Framing plays a role here too, especially when a leader can say: “Here’s what changed, here’s how we’ve grown, and here’s how this connects back to our longer-term mission.” 

Teams that see leaders reflect on their practice, are more likely to emerge stronger and feel safe reflecting on their own reaction to the disruption.

You can all come out stronger for having weathered the latest storm together transparently and accountably.  

Don’t beat yourself up. 

Even the most seasoned leaders stumble in the face of the commotion. I see a few patterns show up (and have practiced more than a couple myself).

SPECULATION – Taking transparency too far

To reassure people, some leaders share every half-formed theory or rumor they’ve heard. The intention is good – “I’m being open” – but the effect is destabilizing. Teams don’t need fortune tellers; they need to separate what’s known from what’s unknown. Strong leaders resist the urge to fill the silence with guesses. 

DELAYING HARD TRUTHS

Silence often comes from a place of protection: leaders want to shield their teams from painful news until they’re “ready” for it. But by the time the truth comes out, trust has already eroded. Staff, board, communities you serve, and donors would rather hear a difficult reality than feel

blindsided. Strong leaders practice compassionate candor.

INCONSISTENT UPDATES.

One week there’s a flurry of emails, the next week nothing. The team starts to wonder: “What’s going on now?” Inconsistent communication feeds anxiety – we wonder if our leader has no idea what’s happening or if the other shoe is about to drop. Reliable leaders define the cadence of communication and hold themselves accountable to delivering – even if that’s just “no new updates to report.”  

FORGETTING EMPATHY WHILE FOCUSING ONLY ON LOGISTICS.

In a crisis, leaders often zero in on operational fixes: budgets, timelines, action plans. Those matter, but so do people’s feelings of fear, grief, or exhaustion. When leaders ignore the emotional side, their teams feel unseen. Effective leaders acknowledge the stress of the situation, ensure staff are aware of all support available to them, and help managers understand how to get things done in the most human way possible. 

TAKING CARE OF OTHERS FIRST (OR EXCLUSIVELY).

There’s a reason every flight attendant reminds us to put on our own oxygen masks first before assisting others. Leaders who don’t take care of their own grounding during disruption – whether that’s getting enough sleep, trusting their leadership teams, or eating right – risk burnout and model poor self-care to their teams. And you add to the feeling of uncertainty while we watch these events take their toll on you. 

You can dance around these pitfalls by asking yourself a few key questions before you open your mouth or hit “send” on that email:

• What’s the one-sentence version of what’s happening? If you can’t summarize it clearly, your team can’t absorb it easily. Start by naming it in plain language.

• What do we know for certain? Facts anchor people. Even if the list is short, it creates a firm foundation.

• What don’t we know and when will we know more? Uncertainty is less frightening when you give it boundaries. Promise updates at specific times, even if the update is, “We still don’t know.”

• How does this connect to our mission and strategy? This helps people see whether the crisis is a hundred-mile detour or a quick distraction. There are also many crises in our world that may not directly affect your organization but acknowledging their existence and that they don’t change the work you are doing brings its own comfort to the team.

• What immediate steps are we taking? Teams can handle VUCA if they know their next action. Clear direction relieves the sense of paralysis and helps the team focus their attention on something productive. 

• When will I communicate next? Reliability in communication is more important than having all the answers. People feel steadier when they know when they’ll hear from you again.

I suggest putting all of this into a VUCA checklist and reviewing it every morning until the situation resolves or a new normal is evident. 

Sharing just enough of your humanity throughout the disruption shows your team you have a handle on things – without sounding like a robot. No leader can eliminate uncertainty, but they can create reliability in how they show up. They can use big crises and smaller disruptions to build trust, transparency, and safety that will strengthen the fiber of culture. 

Just take a deep breath and repeat after me: “VUCA, VUCA, VUCA.”

Name and frame.

Name and frame. 

Rinse and repeat.

I help leaders manage turbulence and keep the plane steady. To learn more about my approach to executive coaching or strategy projects that help build stability, email me at gary@garybagley.com or DM me on LinkedIn.