Hidden Web

Presentation to PMI, Central Massachusetts Chapter5/11/2010

Partnering Resourceswww.partneringresources.com | 617.395.8396 1

The Hidden WebInside the Informal Networks that Drive Project Performance

Project Management InstituteCentral Massachusetts ChapterMay 11, 2010

Maya Townsend, FounderPartnering Resources

The Point

P j tProject managers can improve projects success rates and

personal performance if they attend to informal

networks

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Project Success Rates are Not Where They Need to Be…

Changes Completed On Time and With Minimal Disruption

5%Gartner, 2001

Average Project Cost Percentage of Originally

3

Average Project Cost Overrun

43%

Defined Features Delivered

54%** Of which 45% are never usedStandish Group Standish Group

Stronger Networks – Project Success

Successful Projects Less Successful Projects

Very Strong

36%

Strong57%

Strong27%

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• 93% of successful change initiatives were led by people with very strong / strong personal networks

• 73% of less successful change initiatives were led by people with moderate / weak networks

Data: NEHRA / Partnering Resources study (2009).



Today’s Talk

1 What are networks?1. What are networks?

2. How can PMs use them to improve project success rates?

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rates?

Image: Partnering Resources

WHAT IS A NETWORK?WHAT IS A NETWORK?

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What is a Network?

Computer networks move data from location to location

Public transportation networks help people travel in cities

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Networks are about movement The circulatory system carries oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from our cells

The Simplest Work Network

Human networks are also all about movement: The movement of information

You have a question

You ask Mary at the next desk

She doesn’t know the answer and calls

Sam knows how to answer the

question so Mary connects you to

Sam

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Sam for advice

Problem solved!



People Form Networks within Teams

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More People, More Complexity

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It’s Not Just the Grapevine

Social Decision-Making Innovation

11Expertise Improvement

PMs Work Through Informal Networks

12Image: Rebecca St. James



When They’re Good, They’re Very, Very Good…Healthy networks can…• Adapt quickly to change.p q y g• Withstand stress.• Reorganize without significantly

affecting productivity.• Diffuse information easily.• Grow quickly.

13Case studies: Plastrik & Taylor (2006) and Evans & Wolf (2005).

…When They’re Bad, They’re Disaster

• Nearly 80% of senior executives surveyed believe that effective coordination across boundaries is crucial for growth…

• …yet only 25% say their organizations are effective at sharing knowledge across b d i

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boundaries

Graphic: NetForm. Used with permission.



PMs Need Information

80%

20%

“Coordination across organizational lines is crucial for

“Our organization effectively shares knowledge across boundaries.”

15Data: Cross, Martin, & Weiss, McKinsey Quarterly, 2006.

organizational lines is crucial for growth.”

Percentage of executives in McKinsey poll responding positively to question.

Networked Leaders are More Successful

Moderate7%

Successful Projects Less Successful Projects

Very Strong

36%

Strong57%

7%

Strong27%

Moderate55%

Weak18%

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• 93% of completely successful change initiatives were led by people with very strong / strong personal networks

• 73% of less successful change initiatives were led by people with moderate / weak networks




HOW CAN PROJECT MANAGERS HOW CAN PROJECT MANAGERS USE NETWORKS TO IMPROVE PROJECT SUCCESS RATES?

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Four Techniques

1. Know your networks2 B ild t t k2. Build strong networks3. Understand the project network4. Build your project network

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1. Know Your networks

19Image: Partnering Resources.

A Popular Network Myth

I already know what’s going

on in my network

20Image: Stephenson, “Trafficking in Trust” in Coughlin, Wingard, & Hollihan, 2005



Map Your Network and Identify Gaps

21Image: Credit unknown.

2. Build Strong Networks

22Image: Barry Wellman, “The Network Community: An Introduction to Networks in the Global Village.



A Common Tip for Network Building

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Another Way to Network

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”



Key to Building Your Network

25Photo: Sizumaru’s Photo Stream, Flickr.

The Minimalist Approach

1 Schedule 1 coffee meeting / month1. Schedule 1 coffee meeting / month

2. Forward 1 email / week

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3. Walk around the office and talk with people 1 time / day



Watch Out for Network Traps

The bottleneck The biased learner

The disconnected expert Image: Gijs van Kooten

27Cross, Thomas, & Light, “How Top Talent Uses Networks and Where Rising Stars Get Trapped

The surfacenetworker

expert

Image: Gijs van Kooten

3. Understand Your Project Network

• How does information flow within your project team? Where is it blocked?

• Who are the ad hoc decision-makers?

• Who has expertise needed to solve problems?

• Who can make things happen?

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Who can make things happen?

Image: Nancy Margulies (www.nancymargulies.com)



An Example

29Images: Partnering Resources using NetForm™ Connectors software.

How to Understand a Project Network

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1.Map the network by hand2.Map the network using ONA software3.Ask 10 people you trust: Who do you trust to get

things done?

Image: Adapted from Cross, Borgatti, & Parker, “Making Invisible Work Visible: Using Social Network Analysis to Support Strategic Collaboration.”



4. Build Your Project Network

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Use Multiple Techniques

Ask informal leaders to help support the

change

Brainstorm or explore ideas associated with Strategize how to

l iGet feedback on

d t h

Understand what the grapevine has to say

about change

Leverage personal contacts to help get

things done

Strategize how to l i

Get feedback on d t h

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ideas associated with the change with

people outside the change team

overcome planning or implementation

obstacles

documents, approach, and aspects of the

initiative before rollout


overcome planning or implementation

obstacles

documents, approach, and aspects of the

initiative before rollout



Key Takeaways

• Stronger networks : better performanceU d t d t k d• Understand your networks and your gaps

• Understand and build the project network• Nurture relationships with information sources,

helpful critics, and boundary spanners

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Let’s Leverage Our Networks!

What stands out as most relevant to your work?

What questions do you have?

34Image: Nancy Margulies (www.nancymargulies.com)



About the Presenter

• 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.

Hidden Web

Business

Transcript of Hidden Web