While one’s position on an organization chart plays a formal role in leadership, significant leadership potential at less senior levels can be identified through their netowrk position.
Identifying and assimilating a new leader into an environment is most efficient when people networks overlap.
Contemporary work environments require leadership capabilities which rely on one’s ability to connect people and ideas both internally and externally to an organization. Self-awareness is important to improving one’s networking capability.
Oftentimes, the density of a network is correlated with an individual’s engagement. The more connected the individual is, the more engaged they tend to be.
An organization does not benefit from diversity without inclusion. Usually, lack of inclusion shows up when individuals from a particular diverse sub-group are excluded from certain networks.
New network leaders empower staff by distributing decision-making authority across their teams. Network analysis can measure the effectiveness of your leader’s ability to empower the organization.
When two teams collaborate better, they are able to align on goals, coordinate activities, leverage diverse expertise, and drive innovation. Use network analysis to understand and improve cross-team collaboration.
Innovation is about integrating pieces of information from different areas to spark a new insight. Innovation networks help leaders better understand how ideas are shared and how engaged different groups are in the process.
Influence is a key factor in strategic change initiatives. By leveraging those individuals who are most influential within the organization, you can accelerate speed of change.
Most relationships with external networks are fragmented and not optimally managed. Leverage network measures to understand choke points and structure more effective business relationships.
Most organization re-designs are completed without a full understanding of how work really gets done. Network analysis can reveal where relationships support the organization structure and where there may be friction and inefficiency.
Based on certain network measures, individuals at greater risk of leaving the organization can be spotted. This is important when investing in talent development interventions.
Individuals who facilitate the flow of information and ideas are important to the functioning of an organization. Again, by using network measures, retention strategies are targeted and effective.
