social networks for managers

Social Networks for Managers

Patti Anklam Willamette University

March 4, 2014

I’ve become convinced that understanding how networks work is an essential 21st

century literacy.

Howard Rheingold


Agenda

―The language of networks

―Networks in organizations

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Social Network Analysis

Overview of Tools and Technologies

The New Language of Networks

http://www.dftdigest.com/images/Spyglass.jpg


Networks Matter

• We live in networks all the time: communities, organizations, teams

• The complexity of work in today’s world is such that no one can understand – let alone complete – a task alone

– Individual-individual

– Team-team

– Company-company

– Eco-system to eco-system

• Strong networks are correlated with health:

– People with stronger personal networks are more productive, happier, and better performers

– Companies who know how to manage alliances are more flexible, adaptive and resilient

– Our personal health and well-being is often tied to our social networks

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Structure Matters

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• There is science to support the understanding of network structure

• The structure of a network provides insights into how the network “works”

• Once you understand the structure, you can make decisions about how to manage the network’s context

• Network analysis tools help you understand the structure


The Importance of Understanding Networks

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“Teaching executives to see social capital” http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ronald.burt/research/files/TESSC.pdf (2006)

http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ronald.burt/research/files/TESSC.pdf


The new science of networks

• Beginning in the 1990’s computer science made it possible to map and analyze large social networks.

2002

2002

2002

2003

2004

2004

2009

2009

• By 2009, network science and analysis are accepted practice in science and management

• Insights became accessible to the public.

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2005


Meanwhile…

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“big data

mindset”

• …by 2013 we started to see a lot of interest in accessing our public personas to understand networks


But it still all comes down to 0s and 1s

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• A network is a collection of entities linked by a type of relationship

• So we can applying network

concepts in many contexts: – People-groups-organizations

– Use of information artifacts

– Ideas & issues

Node

Tie


Rob Cross’s Classic Case

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From: The Organizational Network Fieldbook, Rob Cross et al, Jossey-Bass 2010


A Classic Case

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A Classic Case

From: The Hidden Power of Social Networks, Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, Harvard Business School Press, 2004 13



A Classic Case

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A Classic Case

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It’s all about Questions

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Patterns provide insights that provoke good questions. Full stop.


Network Analysis in Organizations

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Management Practice Examples (Short List)

Leadership Development Personal Leadership Succession Planning

Innovation Identify energy sources Bridge boundaries

Knowledge management Expertise location Communities of practice Improving information flow

Organizational Change and Development

Change management Mergers and acquisition

Talent Management Positioning people in roles Professional network development

Organizational Performance Team building

Why managers should be interested:


The Crux of the Analysis: The Questions

• Improve collaboration

• Finding connectors and influencers in organizations and communities

• Leadership development

• Performance benchmarking

• Integration of units following merger/acquisition

Problem (Examples) Relationships of Interest

• Access to expertise

• Innovative capacity

• Collaborative capacity

• Ease of knowledge flow

• Decision-making and task flow

• Innovation potential

• Energy

Shares new ideas with

Seeks help for problem-solving Works closely with Knows expertise of


The Unit of Analysis: The Relationship

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…and the demographics that govern them

• We collect as much information about the attributes of the people in the network*

– Organizational unit

– Job title/role

– Location

– Expertise

– Job level

– Age

– Gender

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*within the bounds of what is legal and appropriate


Different Questions, Different Maps

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“I interact with this person somewhat frequently”

“I understand this person’s knowledge and skills “ (Agree or Strongly Agree)


More Terminology

• Direction

– If ties are directed, it matters which way they go.

– If it doesn’t matter, they are undirected

– When ties are directed, sometimes reciprocity matters

• Degree

– The number of ties each node has is its degree

– If ties are directed, then the node will have an in-degree and an out-degree

– If ties are undirected, then the node has simply a degree

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Directed ties

Undirected ties


California Computer

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From “Informal Networks: The Company” David Krackhardt and Jeffrey R. Hanson HBR, 1993

CEO Leers must choose someone to lead a strategic task force.

Bair

Stewart

Ruiz

O'Hara

S/W Applications

Harris

Benson

Fleming

Church

Martin

Lee

Wilson

Swinney

Huberman

Fiola

Calder

Field Design

Muller

Jules

Baker

Daven

Thomas

Zanados

Lang

ICT

Huttle

Atkins

Kibler

Stern

Data Control

Leers

CEO


California Computer

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From “Informal Networks: The Company” David Krackhardt and Jeffrey R. Hanson HBR, 1993

CEO Leers must choose someone to lead a strategic task force.

Bair

Stewart

Ruiz

O'Hara

S/W Applications

Harris

Benson

Fleming

Church

Martin

Lee

Wilson

Swinney

Huberman

Fiola

Calder

Field Design

Muller

Jules

Baker

Daven

Thomas

Zanados

Lang

ICT

Huttle

Atkins

Kibler

Stern

Data Control

Leers

CEO


Was Harris a Good Choice?

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Whom do you go to for help or advice?

Field Design

Data Control Systems

Software Applications

CEO

ICT


The Question of Trust

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Whom would you trust to keep in confidence your concerns about a work-related issue?


The Question of Trust

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Whom would you trust to keep in confidence your concerns about a work-related issue?


• Look at the whole network and its components

Network Analysis Also Provides Metrics

• Look at positions of individuals in the network

Centrality Metrics

Structural Metrics

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Structural Metrics

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• Common measures:

–Density of interactions

–Average degree of separation

–Cross-group or cross-organization connectivity

• Good for comparing questions, groups within networks or for comparing changes in a network over time

Look at the whole network and its components


Interpreting Results

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“I interact with this person twice a month or more”

I understand this person’s knowledge and skills (Agree or Strongly Agree)

Density: 11% Distance: 2.7

Density: 28% Distance: 1.8


How the Metrics Enhance the Maps

2010

2011 Year # Density Avg #

ties

2009 55 2.2% 1.2

2010 90 2.7% 2.4

2011 85 5.3% 4.5

2012 82 8% 6.88

2009

2012

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Centrality Metrics

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Look at positions of individuals in the network

• Good for identifying people who are well positioned to influence the network or to move information around

• Common measures:

– Number of connections (degrees)

– Frequency of occurrence on paths between others

– Diversity of connections

– Quality of connections

The people with the most connections are not necessarily the most influential!


Identifying Key People

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Who are the people who are best positioned to move information through the network?

In-degree: 16 Betweenness: 1125





Which Technology Scout is Most Successful?

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It's Whom You Know Not What You Know: A Social Network Analysis Approach to Talent Management, Eoin Whelan, SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1694453


The Importance of Diversity

People who live in the intersection of social worlds are at higher risk of having good ideas. –

Ron Burt

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Detecting Diversity

• Who is more likely to have access to new ideas?

– Tom

– Marion

• Why?

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Organizational Interventions

Ways to change patterns in

networks

Practices from the KM Repertoire

Create more connections Make introductions through meetings and webinars, face-to-face events (like knowledge fairs); implement social software or social network referral software; social network stimulation

Increase the flow of knowledge Establish collaborative workspaces, install instant messaging systems, make existing knowledge bases more accessible and usable

Discover connections Implement expertise location and/or; discovery systems; social software; social networking applications

Decentralize Social software; blogs, wikis; shift knowledge to the edge

Connect disconnected clusters Establish knowledge brokering roles; expand communication channels

Create more trusted relationships Assign people to work on projects together

Alter the behavior of individual nodes Create awareness of the impact of an individual’s place in a network; educate employees on personal knowledge networking

Increase diversity Add nodes; connect and create networks; encourage people to bring knowledge in from their networks in the world

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Organizational Networks Summary

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• The science of networks has brought insights into the structure of organizational networks

• Organizational network analysis lets us map relationships that reveal the informal networks through which work gets done

• Developing and sharing these maps helps organizations improve collaborative capacity, overcome obstacles to effective sharing, and redesign their work relationships

• Results are a guide to asking good questions and should never be interpreted as an “answer”

Overview of Tools and Technologies

http://quilting.about.com/od/picturesofquilts/ig/Alzheimer-s-Quilts/The-Ties-that-Bind.htm


Basics of Network Map

Core

Periphery

Isolates

Structural Hole

Cluster


Map Patterns

Multi-Hub Hub and Spoke

Stove-piped (Siloed) Core/Periphery

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What Sorts of Tools Are There?

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• Range in complexity of function & cost

• Let you access and map your own network

Social Media Graph apps

Hands-on Tools

Specialized assessment instruments

• PNA (personal network assessment) tool offers individualized results

Enterprise Analytics • High-end measurement & dashboards


Mapping and Analysis Tools


Tool Basics – the Dataset (0s and 1s)

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Information about the nodes (vertices) and the ties (edges)


Load and Draw…1

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Load and Draw…2

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Load and Draw…3

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Short List of Resources for SNA/ONA Tools

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http://tinyurl.com/SNA-ONA-Tools


On the Internet, What’s in a Tie?

• Social network platforms:

– A Facebook Friend

– A LinkedIn Connection

– A Twitter Following

• Social media content platforms:

– Likes, posts, replies, shares, and uploads

– Mentions or “retweet” #hashtags

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Networks in Social Media

1. Krugman tweets a link to an article

2. There are a number of Tweeters who publish links to the article but these are not connected to other Tweeters

3. There are two densely interconnected groups of people who share the link and discuss it

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Analyzing Twitter networks with NodeXL: Broadcast Networks

http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/20/mapping-twitter-topic-networks-from-polarized-crowds-to-community-clusters/


Enterprise Networks

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Syndio Social Uses SNA to Build Management Dashboards

Highest social capital

Most favorable to change


Our Personal Networks

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http://inmaps.linkedinlabs.com/


Understanding Your Personal Network

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Focus Purpose How to Develop

Operational Getting work done efficiently

Identify people who can block or support a project

Personal Develop and maintain professional skills and reputation

Participate in professional associations, clubs, and physical and online communities

Strategic Figure out and obtain support for future priorities and challenges

Identify lateral and vertical relationships outside your immediate control

Source: “How Leaders Create and Use Networks,” Herminia Ibarra and Mark Hunter, Harvard Business Review January 2007


Who’s Connected into Different Parts of My Network?

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Facebook

55 https://apps.facebook.com/namegenweb/


Facebook from NodeXL

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The PNA (Personal Network Assessment)

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Summary

• Social network analysis tools and methods are available to map organizational, Internet, enterprise, and an individual’s personal network

• The tools matter less than the network mindset – and the understanding that the structure of a network matters

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Question

• [email protected]

•http://www.pattianklam.com

Thank you.

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social networks for managers

Business

company david

strategic

organizational

personal network

social networks

persons knowledge

informal networks

hanson hbr