Social media is changing the way we connect and share information in our personal lives. Weaving a social context into your business is quickly becoming a prerequisite for success. Within our companies, we work more productively when we can easily collaborate online. It's time to transform your business for the new social reality in new and powerful ways.
Organizational Network Analysis (ONA)
Activate Networks analytics platform allows us to map and measure the normally invisible relationships between people, thus providing an organizational x-ray to executives that enables them to more precisely focus on strategic objectives that transform business and spur innovation. ONA is a powerful means of revealing once invisible patterns and flows of information collaboration enabling organizational effectiveness by understanding how to inspire and motivate individuals.
Formal Structure vs. Informal Networks
The formal structure of an organization serves many important purposes, and it is where most change interventions start. But there is a much more powerful undercurrent at play, the informal network, a strategic asset that that can often be at odds with the formal structure. There may be a few leaders that intuitively tap into this network, the whitespace where process work lives and the place where work really gets done. Yet, this informal network is often invisible to management and in effect, it is where unplanned, serendipitous collaboration often occurs, where the heart of change lives.
Changing Culture Through Informal Networks
Driving change through formal organizational hierarchy can be difficult because the right people may not be engaged in the decision or the communication process. And since the right people are often not included, the context for the change is distorted and misinterpreted causing uncertainty, thus the motivation for the change is lost.
When people have a high degree of uncertainty, they experience a lack of control and a perceived inability to influence outcomes. This is because people take what they can see and then predict what is next, projecting into the future. This is why most change efforts fail - not enough people are included early in the process or even along the way. They fail to understand the value to them personally and the organization at large. Most change is managed by mandating compliance, not through enabling and inspiring desired behaviors.
Understanding the informal network is the hidden key to driving change because it provides a mechanism to identify the change agents. These change agents are opinion leaders who, in most cases, support the culture of the company. They are highly connected in the informal network for a reason, their competency, trustworthiness and value to the organization. However, not all of the strongly connected resources are supporters of the change, some are skeptics. It is critically important to identify and embrace these resources because if they are not included in the change process, the undercurrent working against the change will be even stronger. If you embrace and include the skeptics, understand their change barriers, these skeptics can become advocates.
Managing the Change Message
The informal network is extremely valuable in monitoring the change message. Once the key influencers have been identified, they can provide the all important feedback to the project team in the following areas regarding communication:
These change agents help the project team determine if the vast majority of the organization is getting it. Do they understand the need for the change? Do they understand the specific benefits? Once feedback is provided, and it is not an event rather an ongoing process, then the project team can refine the message and mode of communication as appropriate.
Working within the informal network supports collaboration around critical, strategic business processes that help companies manage effectively in an environment of accelerated change. This improves the flow and reuse of information that empowers efficiency gains, continuous process improvements, cost savings and organizational scalability, which in turn leads to higher customer satisfaction.
