Networks and Networking

Two Leadership Rules for the Networked World

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connect and clarify

We have a problem. Most of us are using old leadership techniques that no longer work.

Here’s a case in point. I met Cyrus a few years back. He was a manager who insisted on being involved in every decision that concerned his department. He was still living in the old world, where one person could keep up with all the decisions concerning their department. Not surprisingly, he received horrible performance ratings and burnt out quickly.

Leadership Rules for our Networked World

Today, in our flattened, hyper-paced world, leadership is no longer about commanding staff and controlling work. Instead, leaders are called upon to influence people who don’t report to them, direct higher-ranking employees, and gain commitment from people with little interest in their vision.

Three Notorious Networking Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

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Networking for Women

We need networks to be successful. But don’t make one of these notorious networking mistakes.

Have you ever had the feeling that you’re not networking correctly? You might be making one of these notorious networking mistakes. They’re some of the most common ways people undermine themselves while networking:

  • Networking in ways that don’t work for you,
  • Networking only for today, and
  • Forgetting that networking is a two-way street.

    • Read on to see if you’re making these mistakes and, if you are, how you can correct them.

    For more, visit this article, which was just posted on Inc.com!

    The Bottleneck Effect: Are You Getting In Your Own Way

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    If you’re the black hole in your department, consider how to leverage your network to get out of your way and get more done.

    Managers are responsible for product delivery, project implementation, new ideas, and service improvement. But all too often, things don’t go as planned. If you’re in this situation, you might gain feedback like this:

    • You’re not performing up to expectations
    • You need to do better
    • Brush up on your time management
    • Your staff lacks skills and knowledge
    • Your department is under-resourced

    You may have worked on this feedback without satisfying results.

    What do you do? Consider this: You might be getting in your own way.

    Three Ways Human Networks Can Help Drive Change

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    The technology vice president of a local financial services company was frustrated. A bottom-line strategy depended on the success of a recent reorganization. Unfortunately, the reorganization was not generating the expected results. In fact, people were behaving just as usual, despite new reporting relationships and a redesigned divisional structure.

    This situation is more often the case than not: leaders design and institute strategies that fail to achieve results. According to a 2006 McKinsey survey, only 38 percent of change initiatives were completely or mostly successful at improving performance.

    In other words, even when strategies are successful, they don’t come close to returning intended results.

    Primer on Organization Network Dynamics & Analysis

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    NTL Handbook of OD & Change
    We know that networks exist. But what we haven't known until recently is how to work with them. A new article helps leaders understand just how to do so. The new NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change features thirty-four chapters designed to help leaders and practitioners bring about meaningful change in organizations. Partnering Resources' founder Maya Townsend contributed "Organization Network Dynamics and Analysis" to the book. Keep reading to see how you can receive a free preview copy of the article.

    Change Leadership Challenge 5: Use Networks for Change

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    This is the fifth in a series of posts about change leadership. Previous posts covered active, committed leadership, building a compelling business case, embedding change, and meaningful employee participation. “I’ll tell you how communication really works around here,” the data architect told me over coffee. “Jeff, Susan, and Ramesh make a decision. I play video games with Jeff during lunch and get the scoop. I tell the other architects.” Jeff successfully found the key to getting information in this organization: work through the network, not through the hierarchy. Unfortunately, too many organizations assume that formal communication processes work, when in reality people use networks to get information. Make sure your next change initiative isn’t undermined by tapping proactively into your company’s hidden human networks.

    The Ultimate Networking Cheat Sheet

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    Often, the hardest part of networking is getting started. Here's a manageable way to change your perspective and begin building fruitful relationships in the next 30 days. You have one month to land financing. Or recruit a mission-critical hire. Or find a new position. Whatever the deadline, you need to build relationships, you need to do it fast, and you need to do it right. This cheat sheet tells you how with a 30-day plan. To read the rest of this post, which just went live on Inc.com, click here: The Ultimate Networking Cheat Sheet.

    Networking for Dummies: 4 Habits Your Contacts Hate

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    Networking not working? Here are four common networking sins, and suggestions for mending your ways before another valuable connection is lost. I attend a lot of networking events--so many that I can now spot a disingenuous, disinterested, unsuccessful networker from across the room. And I'm not alone in my avoidance of those people. Here are four common networking mistakes, and strategies for making more meaningful connections moving forward. To read the rest of this post, which just went live on Inc.com, click here: Networking for Dummies: 4 Habits Your Contacts Hate.

    The Introverts’ Networking Survival Guide

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    3 Ways to Build Genuine Relationships

    Despair that you’ll never be gregarious or outgoing enough to succeed at networking? Never fear, introverts. Here are 3 strategies for making connections using your own unique gifts.

    I am an introvert. My consulting business blooms or withers largely on the basis of my networking prowess. Fifteen years ago, this painful dichotomy kept me up at night.

    I signed up for a networking event in Washington, D.C., and the anticipation proved nearly as damaging as the networking itself: What was I going to talk about? How would I start conversations with complete strangers? What if everyone ignored me?

    3 Ways to Network Your Way to Genuine Relationships

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    Feel like you’re collecting names, not building meaningful relationships? Then chances are your networking strategy needs an overhaul. Here are three strategies for concentrating on quality rather than quantity, which is ultimately how you’ll land that new client or gig.

    This post, 3 Ways to Network Your Way to Genuine Relationships, just went live on Inc.com. Check it out!

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