I just finished reading Rob Cross's new book on social networks, Driving Results Through Social Networks in which he discusses the application of the Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) methodology to various types of organizations. Rob raises some interesting questions which parallel questions I have raised in previous posts with regard to the role of collaboration skills and collaborative skills training in contemporary organizations.
Organizational Network Analysis, as one learns from this book, is a structured means of making networks visible along a variety of parameters ranging from the existence and strength of connections among people to the way that culture is manifest throughout the individuals in an organization. The result of making networks more visible is that leaders can observe vulnerabilities arising from conditions like bottlenecks, overload, marginalization of expertise, absence of broker roles, or the concentration of content or network expertise in someone whose leaving the organization would be problematic.
I am intrigued by Rob's work because many years ago, I studied with Zerka Moreno who along with her husband Jacob Moreno utilized an approach called Sociometry and adapted it to configurations and dynamics in families and groups. This I gather is a precursor to Rob's current work. I have also learned about Rob's work because we both participated and presented in the same Working Knowledge Executive Forum.
An Intriguing Question
The question that I want to focus on from Rob's book is whether collaboration and team development as we have known them have a place in the networked world of today. Rob doesn't focus on the technology in the networked organization so much as on the networks made possible by the technology.
Rob argues that the role of collaboration and team development in today's organizations is far diminished. He cites as reasons:
- The lack of time that organization members have;
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The need to rapidly form and disband teams that are distributed across multiple sites;
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The overkill that results from using team building with standing teams when collaboration is only necessary among a select few and the underkill that results in other teams which have to look externally for resources;
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The existence of network interventions that can achieve the same results among which are doing an Organizational Network Analysis.
The question Rob essentially raises is whether the nature of networked organizations is such that a different paradigm is afoot that requires a totally different approach to achieving positive business results. Rob sums up his argument by saying that organizations should "shift attention away from time consuming team building efforts and onto initiatives that enable networks to integrate expertise, resources and decision-making authority rapidly at the point of execution." He discusses the ability of ONA to accomplish this.
The Role Of Trust
One element that Rob sees as critical in all of this is trust. He spends some time talking about categories of trust and then sets out what appears to be some antecedents for trust. What he says is, "Team leaders can coach members on certain behaviors to improve the likelihood that they will be seen as trustworthy sources of knowledge." Some of the behaviors he mentions are:
- Showing consistency between word and deed.
- Ensuring rich communication.
- Engaging in collaborative dialogue.
- Ensuring that decisions are fair and transparent.
- Creating personal connections.
- Giving first to promote reciprocity.
I gather that after the completion of an ONA and as part of putting structural solutions in place, Rob is still according a place for what I call behavior and skill development in the areas of collaboration and interactions among people. It appears that Rob and I are in agreement here and both of us see these as important in implementing solutions.
The Role For Targeted Interventions
Rob is also saying that doing an ONA and implementing resulting action steps is a preferable approach to general team building because ONA is more targeted to achieving desired results.
I agree with Rob on the importance of targeted actions that are linked to results. However, sometimes team building for an intact group is a targeted intervention. I certainly agree that there are other types of situations where team building is not the appropriate intervention and these situations in our networked, dispersed world may be increasing. Rob is convincing in portraying the potential of ONA for taking a targeted approach to identifying organization vulnerabilities and potentials in these situations. The book is very helpful in sketching out the nuances of the increasingly networked organizations of today.
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