Quite often, it is assumed that if you have the right People Capital in your organization and they are all placed in the right roles, it will boost productivity and operational efficiency. For this reason, there has been a widespread adoption of 9-box and other models to analyze employee performance and evaluate how their potential can be moved in the right vectors.

However, there is another important aspect that is often missed by employees as well as organizations. And that important aspect is that the Organizational Networks are far more powerful to bring the best out of the organization than individual performances.

In today’s organization, if the employees are abreast with the art of building one’s organizational network, and know how to derive maximum value from it, then they have the opportunity to impact and amplify both personal and organizational growth. But before we go into the specifics of how one can benefit from Organizational Networks (ONs), it’s important to understand a few related terminologies:

  • Pivotal Node: An employee who is well-networked and connected with several of her / his peers and colleagues within or outside of their function.
  • Knowledge Brokers: These are the members of the team who introduce one network to the other. Their role is critical – if they leave the organization, it will breakdown the knowledge network eventually breaching the information and resource flow within the organization.
  • Peripheral Node: These employees are at the opposite end of the spectrum, when compared to the pivotal node. They are connected to fewer people and could be potentially looking out. If they are highly skilled at their job, then their exit will jeopardize the function they are performing.
  • Organizational Network Analysis (ONA): This is a tool which enables leaders to visualize and analyze formal and informal relationships that exist in the organization, which could help in improved decision-making. Read more

This article written by Surinder Bhagat appeared in BWPeople.in