Embrace the Power of Organizational Networks to Improve Performance
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Ready for what’s next. www.boozallen.com Formal Organization Collaboration Network The chart on the left is a typical organizational chart. Within it are hidden networks—the networks within which work is performed. The right is a true collaboration network. Department Head Department Head Technology Manager Analytics Manager Strategy Manager S1 S2 S3 T1 T2 A1 A2 Technology Manager Analytics Manager Strategy Manager S1 S2 S3 T1 T2 A1 A2 Getting Connected The consequences of failed collaboration are far reaching. A multimillion-dollar IT moderniza- tion falls short of its promise because managers and employees sub-optimize its function- ality. Financial analysts in regulatory agencies do not collaborate and thus fail to detect the onset of a crisis in the mortgage lending industry. A large federal agency struggles with a major reorganization because newly realigned units are unable to fully integrate their opera- tions. These familiar examples are drawn from today’s headlines and all share a common denominator: They are in large part the result of a failure in the organizational network. These various networks determine how effectively members of an organization can share informa- tion and insights, work across departmental boundaries, and embrace or reject new ideas. Today’s highest performing organizations have realized that they must be connected and collaborative within their own ranks, as well as with their stakeholders and partners. By understanding and empowering connections among employees, customers, and partners, connected organizations are better able to rapidly collect, analyze, and share business and mission intelligence while outperforming and outlasting organizations that remain stovepiped and bureaucratically compartmentalized. Being a connected organization means senior leaders can focus on strategic issues while allowing capable subordinates to make routine decisions; employees can reduce duplicative work and instead build on the existing efforts of other teams; and individuals who recognize bottlenecks between departments can work together to identify solutions. About Booz Allen Booz Allen Hamilton is a leading provider of management and technology consulting services to the US government in defense, intelligence, and civil markets, and to major corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit organizations. Booz Allen is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, employs more than 25,000 people, and had revenue of $5.59 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2011. (NYSE: BAH) For more information contact Jack Mayer Executive Vice President [email protected] 703-917-2127 Ron Sanders Senior Executive Advisor [email protected] 703-984-0016 Facebook.com/boozallen Twitter.com/boozallen YouTube.com/boozallen LinkedIn.com/company/ booz-allen-hamilton Flickr.com/photos/boozallen www.boozallen.com STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION | TECHNOLOGY | ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS | ANALYTICS Embrace the Power of Organizational Networks to Improve Performance Booz Allen Can Help You Be Ready for What’s Next Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading strategy and technology consulting firm, works with clients to help them become more connected and collaborative in a strategic, mission-oriented way. A connected organization utilizes internal social networks by harnessing the strengths of existing informal networks and deliberately architecting solutions to network weaknesses.
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Transcript of Embrace the Power of Organizational Networks to Improve Performance
Ready for what’s next. www.boozallen.com
Formal Organization Collaboration Network
The chart on the left is a typical organizational chart. Within it are hidden networks—the networks within which work is performed. The right is a true collaboration network.
DepartmentHead
DepartmentHead
TechnologyManager
AnalyticsManager
StrategyManager
S1
S2
S3
T1
T2
A1
A2TechnologyManager
AnalyticsManager
StrategyManager
S1
S2
S3
T1 T2
A1
A2
Getting Connected
The consequences of failed collaboration are far reaching. A multimillion-dollar IT moderniza-tion falls short of its promise because managers and employees sub-optimize its function-ality. Financial analysts in regulatory agencies do not collaborate and thus fail to detect the onset of a crisis in the mortgage lending industry. A large federal agency struggles with a major reorganization because newly realigned units are unable to fully integrate their opera-tions. These familiar examples are drawn from today’s headlines and all share a common denominator: They are in large part the result of a failure in the organizational network. These various networks determine how effectively members of an organization can share informa-tion and insights, work across departmental boundaries, and embrace or reject new ideas.
Today’s highest performing organizations have realized that they must be connected and collaborative within their own ranks, as well as with their stakeholders and partners. By understanding and empowering connections among employees, customers, and partners, connected organizations are better able to rapidly collect, analyze, and share business and mission intelligence while outperforming and outlasting organizations that remain stovepiped and bureaucratically compartmentalized. Being a connected organization means senior leaders can focus on strategic issues while allowing capable subordinates to make routine decisions; employees can reduce duplicative work and instead build on the existing efforts of other teams; and individuals who recognize bottlenecks between departments can work together to identify solutions.
About Booz Allen
Booz Allen Hamilton is
a leading provider of
management and technology
consulting services to the
US government in defense,
intelligence, and civil markets,
and to major corporations,
institutions, and not-for-profit
organizations. Booz Allen is
headquartered in McLean,
Virginia, employs more than
25,000 people, and had
revenue of $5.59 billion
for the 12 months ended
March 31, 2011. (NYSE: BAH)
For more information contact
Jack Mayer
Executive Vice President
703-917-2127
Ron Sanders
Senior Executive Advisor
703-984-0016
Facebook.com/boozallen
Twitter.com/boozallen
YouTube.com/boozallen
LinkedIn.com/company/
booz-allen-hamilton
Flickr.com/photos/boozallen
www.boozallen.com
S T R A T E G Y & O R G A N I Z A T I O N | T E C H N O L O G Y | E N G I N E E R I N G & O P E R A T I O N S | A N A L Y T I C S
Embrace the Power of Organizational Networks to Improve Performance
Booz Allen Can Help You Be Ready for What’s Next
Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading strategy and technology consulting firm, works with clients to help them become more connected and collaborative in a strategic, mission-oriented way. A connected organization utilizes internal social networks by harnessing the strengths of existing informal networks and deliberately architecting solutions to network weaknesses.
The first step toward creating a connected organization is understanding the informal social networks that reflect how work actually gets done. By applying Organizational Network Analysis (ONA), Booz Allen helps clients identify the underlying factors that can hold an organization back or enable it to perform efficiently and adapt to new challenges. ONA enables leaders to quickly understand the real structure of an organization—mission-critical interpersonal networks and key external actors—customers, oversight committees, allies, adversaries, reporters, and regulators.
How Connected Is Your Organization?
Connected organizations contain networks that enable workers to connect efficiently and effectively to get work done. Connected organizations can adapt to changing demands and overcome inefficiencies without overwhelming leaders’ time and capabilities.
Booz Allen helps clients consider the following questions:
• Do geographical or organizational boundaries hinder communication or collaboration in your organization?
• Do factions, tribes, or distinct cultures have trouble working together?
• Are technical or administrative experts over- or under-tasked? Do employees know how to easily find the right people to answer their questions?
• Do employees trust or distrust certain leaders? Do you know why?
• Who are the key bridges and knowledge brokers? What would happen if they left?
Representative Client Experience
Booz Allen has helped its clients make invisible networks visible, allowing them to unlock the power of connections and create a more efficient organization.
• One DoD client improved interorganizational collaboration by bringing representatives of geographically separated organizations together for training purposes. Booz Allen conducted ONAs before, during, and after the training course and provided quantitative metrics describing the resulting interorganizational connections.
• In anticipation of an organizational restructuring, Booz Allen helped a large financial institution identify the individuals central to connecting otherwise disconnected divisions. These findings, augmenting a knowledge management effort, enabled the organization to harness these connections in the newly reorganized structure.
• A large multi-agency, multi-contractor project was failing to meet deadlines. Booz Allen’s ONA revealed that communication and collaboration among contractors was occurring horizontally, in peer-to-peer fashion, while government organizations were collaborating vertically, from leader to leader. The resulting “culture clash” was creating friction and hindering performance until, armed with this new information, project stakeholders addressed the issue.
Whether you’re managing today’s issues or looking beyond the horizon, count on us to help you be ready for what’s next.
10.146.11
Networks > Organizational Charts
“Experienced network managers who can use maps to identify, leverage, and revamp informal networks will become increasingly valuable as companies continue to flatten and rely on teams. As organizations abandon hierarchical structures, managers will have to rely less on the authority inherent in their title and more on their relationships with players in their informal networks. Understanding relationships will be the key to managerial success.”
— David Krackhardt Member of the Booz Allen Center
for Connected Organizations & Jeffrey Hanson
“Informal Networks: The Company Behind the Chart”
Harvard Business Review
