Beyond the org chart: Understanding leadership and influence through Network Analysis. Louise Kovacs Madston Black Mario Ferraro Deloitte Consulting

Transcription

1 Beyond the org chart: Understanding leadership and influence through Network Analysis Louise Kovacs Madston Black Mario Ferraro Deloitte Consulting 6 th February 2012

2 Why analyse networks? Huge investment of time designing org structures and org charts, often with disappointing results The informal organisation usually doesn t receive enough attention Informal networks can exist between functions, divisions and Business Units Informal networks can bypass formal reporting structures to get results quickly Informal networks can also sabotage or jeopardise initiatives Mapping these informal networks can help harness the real power and full potential of the organisation Org Chart : Skeleton = Informal Network : Central Nervous System 2

3 Understanding leadership and influence dynamics Network analysis can help us: Understand the sources and distribution of power Assess leadership potential Lead change Recruit and retain Foster innovation Enhance collaboration to achieve results 3

4 How does it work? Identify social groups linked by work, friendship, influence or communication relations Analyse the relative position of each actor within each group Fundamental parameters: Aspects of Centrality Degree Centrality: Number of ties between an actor and other actors Closeness Centrality: Distance from each actor to all others Betweenness Centrality: Positional advantage from being on the shortest path between other pairs of actors Typical roles: Central Connector: Link most people within a network Boundary Spanner: Connect a network to other part of the organisation or other networks Information Broker: Keep different subgroups within a network together Peripheral Specialist: Accessible to all network members for specialist expertise 4

5 Data sources Network surveys (employee questionnaires) Who talks to whom Who trusts whom Who advises whom on technical matters Managers impressions of informal networks Other data sources: traffic Telephone traffic Social Network traffic Attendance records Information can be processed with several commercially available tools (e.g. UCINET, Pajek, Visone, etc.) 5

6 What do we look for? Formal structures Communication Networks Advice Networks Trust Networks Other features to look for: Imploded Relationships : Groups and departments with few links to other groups. Isolation and silos syndrome Irregular Communication Patterns: Staff communicate more with external groups than among themselves. Lack of cohesion Fragile Structures: Critical communication links between teams that need to collaborate are tenuous Holes in the network: Missing critical links Bow ties : Many players dependent on a single employee, who has great power and control 6

7 Measuring connectedness and influence Based on Deloitte s internal Social Network platform (Yammer) The wheel demonstrates that Yammer has connected numerous groups which might not otherwise have been connected. Influence can be measured by responses to posts. 7

8 Overlaying Network Analytics with Text Analytics Mapping the ebb and flow of the information flowing through a network New York City s 311 information & complaint hotline: 8

9 Text Mining and Sentiment Analysis Identifying the leaders and influencers, together with insights into the sentiments of specific employee segments, allow proactive interventions. 9

10 10 Leadership and Networks

11 Do networks matter? Top 20% of sales people had better networks Recently promoted VPs had qualitatively different networks to those not promoted Researchers with better networks had higher rate of innovation and more successes High performing MDs had 20% more ties and these connections bridged regions, functions, 11/11

12 12/11 3 elements to high performers networks Structural Span the organisation in important ways Cross functions Tenure Specialists Geography Relational Find ways of extending their capacities Seek complementary expertise Sharing their knowledge Behavioural Authentic leaders Invest in developing relationships before they are needed Not transactional

13 Using ONA for talent management and leadership development Productive networks highpotential criteria Identify hidden talent Personal network reports Networks and ONA part of curriculum Succession planning Provide opportunities for successors to develop network Programmes facilitate making relevant connections Re-measured regularly 13/11

14 Using Network Analysis 14/11

15 15 Using Network Analysis

16 16 Network type matched to problem

17 17 Problem solving

18 Mario Ferraro Director Human Capital Louise Kovacs - CEO lkovacs@madstonblack.com.sg