Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness

Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness
Inquiry and learning into social networks, organizational network analysis, and the relationships among people and systems in complex organizations and networks.

Monday, June 20, 2005

Understanding personalities in organizational networks - lovable fools and competent jerks

People often ask about the person in the center of a network or a subgroup in a network: just because they have a lot arrows in and/or out doesn't mean that they're a great person, does it? Of course not! My answer (like those of an economics professor in a management course) is always, "It Depends." You find out the context by interviewing those people and those they are connected to.

Now, just to provide that bit of fundamental knowledge based on research, we have an HBR article by Tiziana Casciaro and Miguel Sousa Lobo
Competent Jerks, Lovable Fools, and the Formation of Social Networks. The researchers provide insight into the dynamics of those people in organizations who may be part of the "social glue" but not necessarily be high performers, and those "stars" who may be difficult to work with. They also offer practical tips on how to manage and balance an organization that has all types of people.

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Courses in ONA and SNA : Perils and Cautions

My work has increasingly shifted toward knowledge transfer. "Always learning ahead," I say, as I focus on keeping up to date and providing client teams with the ability to do ONA/SNA as part of long-term initiatives to improve collaboration.

This past week while I was at a client teaching a masterclass, Bruce Hoppe blogged about the dangers of SNA being excessively hyped. He compares the metaphor of the SNA as the "organizational X-ray" to the history of the use of X-rays in an apt post.

This particular post resonated on two levels: one, it was a delight to hear that Bruce had connected with one of my very long-time colleagues and personal friends, David Hartzband, with whom I'll check in his new office at MIT in a few weeks.

On the second level, it was important because I often reflect on a comment Valdis Krebs made a while back about the danger of a future "Chernobyl" in an SNA case -- someone who so misused the method that it resulted in loss of jobs, reputation, or other pernicious result. I talk about this openly when I teach ONA, and hope I am reasonably fostering ethical use. Fortunately, Bruce includes a link to the Network Roundtable as an example of where SNA is being used to learn more about the role of connectivity in organizations.

Reminder: I am working on a language shift from SNA (social network analysis) to ONA (Organizational Network Analyis), which is SNA applied within the context of organizations.

Happy Birthday, Bruce!. I have so enjoyed working with and learning from you!

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Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Social Network Analysis Hits CIO Magazine

Right on top of an article in Harvard's Working Knowledge about the New CIO Role: Change Warrior comes an article in CIO Magazine itself on Social Network Analysis:
Who Knows Whom, And Who Knows What?. The game is afoot. Introducing software infrastructure is simply an attractor for changes in a corporate environment.

At dinner tonight with Verna Allee, I recounted my work at Digital in the 1980s developing SDML, a precursor to HTML with many of the same roots. Back then, I was pretty naive about the implications for the change in work practices, work models, roles and responsibilities that would change with the introduction of a document preparation system that put design decisions in the hands of people who had used only rote commands; that pushed writers into putting their own hands in the text of the online version of the manuscript (Yes, this was in days before personal computers, MS office, and all that). I (and the community) mostly survived that transitions caused by the way the software worked, and it was a powerful experience I carry with me always.

Now, working with SNA, I am at a similar juncture: it's not "doing SNA" to a group of people, it's developing work habits that embrace creating and sustaining networks of relationships and managing them responsibly; SNA is just a diagnostic that often helps stimulate the thinking around the change. But the real changes are in work habis and work practices, in understanding how people accomplish their work, the roles of other people in that accomplishment, and moving that work to a higher level.

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patti anklam. How to make networks work.

Find me person-to-person !

KMWorld 2008 September 23-25, San Jose, CA. I'll be doing a session on Net Work and moderating a day with KM thought leaders.

links: network analysis

My ONA Page

Rob Cross
Bruce Hoppe
Valdis Krebs
INSNA
ONA-prac. The online community for learners and practitioners in the emerging field of Organizational Network Analysis.

links: blogroll

21st Century Organization
Anecdote
Bill Ives
Dave Snowden
David Gurteen
Denham Grey
Jack Vinson
Patrick Lambe
Ross Dawson