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Recently, I’ve turned my attention to networking theory as I hope to incorporate these ideas into my EBI. So far I’ve reread Krackhardt and Hanson’s (1993) article on Informal Networks which I previously read for the B822 module. They argue that it’s extremely important to map informal connections within the workplace in order to gain more effective work relationships. They say that if a manager learns who wields power inside a company and how various internal coalitions function, the manager can work within the informal organisation to solve problems and improve organisational performance.

They advocate using a three-step process. Step one is to conduct a confidential internal employee network questionnaire to discover who trusts whom, and who advises whom on technical matters. Step two is to cross-reference the answers and create a map based on the consensus of the group. The third step is to process the information using computer-aided mapping software.

In the David Leers case study quoted in the article, Leers discovers after implementing his own organisational trust and advice network survey that the wrong employees are leading the cross-boundary taskforce. The workgroup fails to achieve anything of note because it’s lacking the right people managers. Leers realises that technical expertise does not necessarily mean that an employee has the right diplomatic skills to negotiate organisational change with other employees. And in Leers’ situation, good people management skills were crucial to the success of his strategic workgroup. Once Leers reorganises the taskforce, the team is more successful, and his longer term strategic growth plans for the business started to look more promising.

In theory, mapping an organisation’s internal network seems very pragmatic, but I’m slightly apprehensive about how successful one would actually be in gathering the data. There is a risk that employees would not volunteer the information, they may make it up, or may even feel exploited by the whole process. I don’t think it is very scalable either. A large organisation spanning many countries would probably find this very difficult to undertake whilst cultural issues may influence the results.

Overall, I think that Krackhardt and Hanson are wise to point out that hierarchical job titles do not necessarily mean that an employee has the skills necessarily to work across internal boundaries and functions. It’s also illustrates that few people adhere rigidly to the remit of their job descriptions, particularly in professional services. Also, just because an employee has manager in their title does not necessarily mean that they are able to manage people who don’t report directly to them. I imagine that as more organisations abandon formal job titles and opt for general labels such as associate or executive, developing good powers of persuasion as an employee are probably more important than ever.

References:

Krackhardt, D. and Hanson, J. R. (1993) “Informal Networks; The company behind the Chart”, Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publishing, pp104-11 cited in Henry, J. (2006) 3rd Edition, “Creative Management and Development”, Open University, Sage Publications, pp 191-196.