The Hidden Power of Social Networks:Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations

In today‘s flatter, leaner organizations, the only way that leaders can improve productivity is by making sure that their people collaborate and cooperate across every traditional boundary.

Unfortunately, managers often don‘t pay enough attention to identifying and supporting their organization‘s social networks. The relationships in such networks are where the real work gets done today, through the exchange of advice and information.

While companies know that social networks are important, most managers don‘t understand how these networks really work. As explained in our summary of The Hidden Power of Social Networks, by Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, social networks don‘t appear on organization charts, yet they‘re vital to business success. The challenge confronting leaders is to manage relationships that at first appear almost invisible.

Cross and Parker are research consultants for IBM‘s Knowledge and Organizational Performance Forum. Based on their in-depth study of more than 60 informal networks within organizations around the world, they outline a targeted approach that can help managers evaluate, improve, and support the social networks most critical to success.