Presentation to PMI, Central Massachusetts Chapter 5/11/2010 Partnering Resources www.partneringresources.com | 617.395.8396 1 The Hidden Web Inside the Informal Networks that Drive Project Performance Project Management Institute Central Massachusetts Chapter May 11, 2010 Maya Townsend, Founder Partnering Resources The Point P j t Project managers can improve projects success rates and personal performance if they attend to informal networks 2
Influencing without authority is one of the hardest skills to acquire. Yet there is a powerful tool that can help PMs understand how to influence effectively. Underneath organization charts and process maps are hidden informal networks: the webs of relationships that underlie all organization activity. People activate these webs in order to solve problems, gain expertise, and innovate. For years, we have known that these networks exist, but haven’t had the tools to leverage them properly. Today, thanks to advances in mathematics and technology, we now have the ability to scientifically identify, map, and analyze networks.
In this lively, interactive session conducted in May 2010 at the Massachusetts Bay chapter of PMI, PMs learned how to identify, nurture, and leverage these informal networks in order to boost project success rates. We looked at the science underlying informal networks and influencing with authority. We reviewed recent findings that show the connections between human network management and project performance.
More at: http://partneringresources.com/organizational-networks-and-organization-performance/
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Transcript
Presentation to PMI, Central Massachusetts Chapter5/11/2010
High Performers…• Invest in relationships withInvest in relationships with
sources of information and helpful critics
• Build relationships that span organizational levels
• Position themselves at key points in the network and leverage people around them People who serve as bridges are
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g p pfor implementation
People who serve as bridges are more likely to be in the organization’s
top 20% of performers
From Cross, Thomas, & Light, “How Top Talent Uses Networks and Where Rising Stars Get Trapped” and Groysberg, Lee, & Abrahams, “What It Takes to Make ‘Star’ Hires Pay Off”
Presentation to PMI, Central Massachusetts Chapter5/11/2010
• Founder of management consulting firm Partnering Resources.S i li i id tif i th hidd b f l ti hi th t d i• Specializes in identifying the hidden web of relationships that drive organization performance and helping leaders reach across the “white spaces” to develop solutions that stick.
• Client list includes Alcatel-Lucent, eCopy, eTeck, Fidelity, Financial Profiles, Hanover Insurance Group, Merrimack Pharmaceutical, and Novartis, as well as public and third sector companies such as Andover / Phillips Academy, Close to Home, National Air and Space Administration, National Braille Press, and Project Harmony.
• Teaches leadership, strategy, and alignment at Boston University Corporate Education Center and Northeastern University.
• Published by CIO Com Chief Learning Officer Mass High Tech and other
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• Published by CIO.Com, Chief Learning Officer, Mass High Tech, and other magazines and journals.
• Serves on the Editorial Review Board for OD Practitioner, the premier organization development practitioner journal in the United States.
• Likes chocolate a lot.
Contact: 617.395.8396 o [email protected] o www.partneringresources.com
ReferencesArticles & Research• Cross, R., Borgatti, S.P., & Parker, A. (Winter 2002). “Making Invisible Work Visible: Using Social Network Analysis to
Support Strategic Collaboration.” California Management Review.Suppo t St ateg c Co abo at o Ca o a a age e t e e
• Cross, Martin, & Weiss (2006). “Mapping the Value of Employee Collaboration. McKinsey Quarterly.
• Kleiner, A. (2002). “Karen Stephenson’s Quantum Theory of Trust.” strategy + business. Available at www.strategy-business.com.
• Stephenson, K. (2005). “Trafficking in Trust.” In Enlightened Power (Coughlin, Wingard, & Hollihan, ed.). Available at www.drkaren.us/KS_publications01.htm.
• Townsend, M. (2009). “Leveraging Human Networks to Accelerate Learning.” Available at bit.ly/3V0iF4.
• Townsend, M. (2008). “The Three Most Important Positions You Don’t Know About Yet.” Available at www.partneringresources.com/resources.html.
• Townsend, M. & Yeung, S. (2009). “Informal Networks Linked to Change Success.” Available at bit.ly/17wANX.
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• Evans & Wolf (2005). “Collaboration Rules.” Harvard Business Review.
Books• Anklam, P. (2007). Net Work: A Practical Guide to Creating and Sustaining Networks at Work and in the World.
• Cohen, D. & Prusak, L. (2001). In Good Company: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work.
• Cross, R., & Parker, A. (2004). The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations.