FROM OUR CEO

Massive Potential in Expertise Networks and Shadow Organizations

Do your people KNOW, WHO to reach out to for specific expertise’s, so they can do their job effectively? – and do those experts FEEL ACCESSIBLE to your people? – or do your people FEAR REJECTION, if they reach out to them?

Are these experts also considered the experts, if you ask the WORD-OF-MOUTH in the shadow organization? – and what happens to your PERFORMANCE, if one of those hidden experts SUDDENLY LEAVE your organization?

Is your people’s knowledge of these expertise networks and the shadow organization LIMITED by when they joined your organization, and who they co-incidentally have met in the canteen or during training programs?

The RISK your organization runs, if your people do not know the expertise networks and the shadow organization is tremendous.

To expose yourself to availability bias and ask what data and tools do we have available than can help me answer the question, as many do when they reach out to their e-mail, chat and calendar data and try to understand, what is going on.

This data is transactional in nature, and does not reveal the expertise networks and the shadow organization.

If you do not believe me, then check who you sent your last 25-50 e-mails or chat messages to. Uncovering expertise networks and shadow organizations through your digital footprint is more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack. The data is useless.

It will showcase – as in one professional services company – who knows where to find the best sushi in town, or as in one pharmaceutical company – who sends the most e-mails (which they aided by one the big 4 consultancies used to confirm that they had picked the right talents, as the two lists had a high correlation… yeah, duh!)

To understand the patterns of the expertise networks and the shadow organizations.

Where do what expertise domains reside? – Is the domain relying on individuals? – Do they spent sufficient time on working within their expertise? – Do they know when to share expertise with outsiders? – and are they willing to help their colleagues, if asked?

If you know the patterns of the expertise networks and shadow organizations, you can alter them, where needed. Create accessibility and awareness and cut old lines of non-value adding connectivity. High-performing organizations do this and harvest an enormous business case.

Here are two recommended readings that describe cases, where the massive potential has been harvested.