Network Analysis - How Work REALLY Gets Done

You've probably heard an organization referred to as a “beehive” of activity at one time or another. Usually, it's a way of depicting the amount of activity taking place. However, while that might seem like a bit of a tired cliché, it turns out to be a more complete metaphor to depict what goes on inside organizations day to day.

Just like a beehive, an organization is made up of dozens - perhaps hundreds or even thousands - of individuals who communicate and coordinate moment to moment, each with his or her specific functions and responsibilities.

The health and vitality of any organization hinges on the smooth day-to-day functioning of its informal network - its ability to carry out essential tasks while detecting and responding decisively to threats and opportunities. It is this network that maintains the organization's equilibrium, and through which its work gets carried out.

But here's the thing: Practically speaking, this vital informal communication network, this beehive, is invisible.

Think about that for a minute. A company’s network is made up not just of its employees, but of the myriad conversations, phone calls, email exchanges and meetings that connect them over time. It is through these dynamics that work actually gets accomplished.

Yet leaders typically have no clear picture of those inner-workings. They can’t actually “see” the network – the invisible organization. And you cannot act upon what you cannot see.

Historically leaders just didn’t have any other lens through which to view how their corporate culture operated, much less to connect individual efforts and organizational action in order to drive performance.

Today, we do. It’s called Organizational Network Analysis (ONA).

ONA is a simple, straightforward process that visually maps the informal communication network. It reveals who connects with whom, how often, and in what ways. It shows you how your people are really organized, and how they actually go about their business. It reveals how the organization’s culture shapes, and is shaped by, the informal network.

For leaders, this is a tremendous eye opener. ONA helps them to see what actually goes on inside the organization, to diagnose issues & opportunities, and to stimulate innovation and performance. It lets them see how much alignment is needed where, monitor critical points of value creation, and intervene selectively to give direction without disrupting normal operations.

The process, itself, is simple. Each individual completes a questionnaire indicating with whom they communicate and how often. The computer then processes the data to map the network. From there, it’s a matter of examining the network to identify where it’s working well and where adjustments are needed. These adjustments typically take the form of forging new connections or groups, trimming redundant connections, identifying the key players, and generally monitoring and guiding network functioning in other ways. It then becomes possible to measure outcomes to determine whether and where the adjustments are taking effect.

ONA gives leaders a real-time hands-on level of control over the actual functioning of the organization unlike anything they have ever experienced before.With it, you can fine-tune your operations and drive productivity to unprecedented levels.