In a world where unpredictability is a certainty, businesses face the ongoing challenge of adapting to rapid changes and rebounding from crises. Traditional hierarchical structures, often rigid and siloed, can hamper the flexibility needed to navigate these turbulent times. However, informal networks are a powerful yet frequently overlooked catalyst for fostering resilience and adaptability.
These networks, formed through spontaneous interactions and relationships among employees across all levels, are vital for swiftly and efficiently disseminating knowledge and innovative problem-solving strategies. By embracing and nurturing these informal networks, organizations can enhance their agility, strengthen community bonds, and develop a robust foundation to withstand and thrive in adversity.
The Freedom of Informal Networks
Dave Snowden, known for his expertise in complexity and knowledge management, emphasizes the critical role of informal networks, or the “shadow organization,” in building business resilience. These networks consist of unstructured, unofficial interactions within an organization that are not bound by formal roles or hierarchies, thriving instead of personal relationships and spontaneous exchanges.
Snowden emphasizes that informal networks possess unique agility, swiftly adapting to new information and changes and operating beyond the bureaucratic constraints of formal systems. This flexibility, he points out, enables them to respond more rapidly in complex or volatile environments, providing alternative pathways for information flow, decision-making, and support—crucial during crises when formal channels may falter. They also serve as fertile ground for innovation.
Organizations can enhance their adaptability and resilience by valuing and nurturing these informal interactions. Integrating these networks into the broader organizational strategy allows companies to leverage a vital resource that complements formal structures and boosts overall performance. This strategic focus on informal networks can energize and empower employees, leading to a more dynamic and resilient organization.
Nurturing Informal Networks
Nurturing and building informal networks within an organization can significantly enhance adaptability and resilience. Here are some strategies for fostering these networks, especially if they are currently weak or not yet established:
Encourage Social Interactions: Create spaces and opportunities for informal interactions. This could be through social events, shared lunch areas, or company retreats where people from different parts of the organization can mingle and form personal connections.
Cross-functional Teams: Form cross-functional teams for projects or committees that require collaboration across different departments. This helps to break down silos and encourages the formation of connections that span the formal organizational structure.
Internal Mobility: Promote policies that encourage internal transfers and role rotations. This broadens individual skill sets and increases the number of interpersonal connections across the organization, strengthening the informal network.
Mentorship Programs: Implement mentorship programs that pair employees from different levels and functions. Such programs can facilitate knowledge sharing and create new pathways for communication and support.
Open Communication Channels: Foster a culture of openness where feedback and communication are encouraged across all levels. Tools like internal social media platforms can help employees connect and share ideas beyond formal meetings or hierarchies.
Leadership by Example: Leaders should actively participate in and encourage informal interactions. When leadership shows openness to informal networks, it signals their legitimacy and importance to the rest of the organization.
Recognize and Support Informal Leaders: Every organization has natural leaders who may not hold formal leadership positions but are influential within informal networks. Recognizing and supporting these individuals can help strengthen these networks.
Flexible Work Environments: Encourage flexible work arrangements that allow employees to work in ways that suit their productivity and lifestyle preferences. This can increase job satisfaction and foster informal interactions in less structured environments.
Training and Development: Offer training that focuses on skills related to specific job functions and on soft skills like communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution. This equips employees to be more effective in informal interactions.
Create a Sense of Community: Cultivate a strong organizational culture emphasizing shared values and goals. A strong sense of community makes it easier for employees to connect on a personal level.
Building and nurturing these networks requires a deliberate approach that values the role of informal interactions as much as formal processes. This can lead to a more resilient and adaptive organization.
Efficiency versus Resilience
As such, formal organizations are designed for efficiency and predictability. They are structured through clear roles, responsibilities, and hierarchies to ensure that tasks are completed and goals are met systematically. This structure is crucial for day-to-day operations and achieving specific objectives requiring coordination and consistency.
The shadow or informal organization, acting as a vital back channel, offers flexibility and responsiveness that the formal structure sometimes lacks. This network, built on personal relationships and social interactions, plays a crucial role in facilitating more fluid communication and problem-solving, especially in unexpected situations or when quick adaptation is required. It provides a platform for informal knowledge sharing, innovation, and support, which can be essential during times of change or stress, thereby proving its value in the organization.
Both networks are crucial, and their effectiveness often depends on how well they interact and complement each other. Successful organizations usually recognize the value of informal networks and find ways to integrate this more adaptive, responsive layer into their overall strategy without compromising the stability and order provided by the formal organization. This balanced approach can enhance organizational resilience, foster innovation, and improve employee engagement by leveraging the strengths of both formal and informal systems.
Authority versus Autonomy
Managers are often concerned that informal networks can lead to undermining authority or backbiting. This can indeed be a significant challenge for managers. Addressing this issue effectively involves cultivating a positive organizational culture and implementing strategic management practices that recognize and incorporate informal networks to enhance rather than disrupt the formal organizational structure.
Here are some approaches to mitigate these concerns:
Promote a Culture of Trust and Transparency: Build a culture where openness, trust, and transparency are core values. Encourage managers to communicate openly about their decisions and their reasons, which can reduce misinterpretations and secrecy that might otherwise fuel negative gossip or backbiting.
Leadership Training: Train leaders and managers to understand the value of informal networks and to work with them rather than against them. Emphasizing skills in emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and effective communication can help managers engage with these networks positively.
Recognize and Channel Informal Influence: Identify key influencers within informal networks and involve them in decision-making. By acknowledging their influence and giving them a stake in formal outcomes, these individuals can become allies in disseminating positive narratives and constructive feedback within the organization.
Encourage Constructive Feedback Mechanisms: Implement formal feedback systems that allow employees to voice concerns and suggestions without fear of reprisal. This could be through regular town hall meetings, suggestion boxes, or anonymous surveys. When employees feel their voices are heard in a structured way, they are less likely to resort to informal channels to express dissatisfaction.
Foster Interdepartmental Collaboration: By encouraging collaboration across different areas of the organization, managers can break down silos and reduce the us-versus-them mentality that can foster negative informal interactions. This also helps in building a more cohesive organizational identity.
Set Clear Behavioral Expectations: Clearly articulate the behaviors expected in the workplace, including how employees communicate with and about one another. Setting these standards helps maintain professionalism and discourages harmful behaviors like backbiting.
Monitor and Address Negative Behaviors Promptly: Leaders must stay aware of the organizational climate and address negative behaviors and toxic elements in informal networks as soon as they appear. This can be done by providing support and mediation to resolve conflicts before they escalate.
Integrate Informal Networks into Change Management: Use informal networks strategically in change management initiatives to gain broader support and smoother implementation. People who are vital nodes in informal networks can act as champions for change, using their influence to promote positive outcomes.
By integrating these strategies, managers can harness the benefits of informal networks to enhance organizational resilience and adaptability while mitigating potential risks associated with these networks.
The Risk of Weak Informal Networks
Suppose a crisis hits a company where informal networks are weak or largely absent due to stringent management practices that have emphasized silos. In that case, the organization might find itself at a significant disadvantage. Such companies may struggle with resilience and agility, lacking the informal communication channels to bypass bureaucratic delays and foster rapid, adaptive responses.
Here’s how leaders can respond in such a scenario:
Rapidly Promote Cross-Functional Collaboration: In the absence of existing informal networks, the immediate step is to create structures that can act as temporary informal networks. This might involve setting up cross-functional crisis response teams with members from various levels and departments. These teams can quickly share information and coordinate responses, mimicking the function of an informal network.
Facilitate Open Communication: Leaders should quickly implement more open lines of communication. These could be daily briefings, open forums, or regular updates that allow for two-way communication. Leadership’s transparency about the crisis and ongoing responses can help build trust and encourage informal interactions among employees.
Utilize Technology to Bridge Gaps: Leveraging technology platforms like internal social networks, instant messaging tools, or collaboration platforms can help bridge the gaps created by silos. These tools can facilitate quicker, more fluid communication and collaboration across the organization, fostering the development of new informal networks.
Empower Local Decision-Making: In a crisis, empowering local leaders and teams to make decisions can compensate for the lack of informal networks. This decentralization helps to speed up responses and reduces the bottleneck effects that might occur due to hierarchical decision-making processes.
Seek External Assistance: If internal capabilities are limited, it might be beneficial to seek external consultants or advisors who specialize in crisis management and can provide immediate strategies and actions to manage the situation effectively.
Build for the Future: While managing the crisis, leaders must recognize the importance of informal networks and begin cultivating them for the future. This involves reflecting on the current crisis management strategies and identifying what could be improved by fostering a more interconnected and less siloed organizational culture.
Encourage Reflection and Learning: After managing the immediate crisis, organizations should conduct a thorough review or a debrief. This should focus on learning from the crisis, understanding the role of the lack of informal networks, and planning changes to the organizational culture and structure to prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future.
By taking these steps, an organization can not only more effectively manage the immediate crisis but also pave the way for a more resilient and adaptive future, recognizing the essential role of informal networks in organizational health.
Supporting Research
There has been research into the role of informal networks within organizations and how their presence correlates with organizational resilience, especially in crises. Scholars in organizational behavior and management have explored how these networks contribute to an organization’s ability to respond to and recover from disruptions. Here are some key insights from research in this area:
Enhanced Communication and Information Flow: Studies have found that strong informal networks facilitate quicker and more efficient communication and information flow, which is crucial during a crisis. These networks allow information to bypass formal hierarchical channels, leading to faster response times and more adaptive decision-making processes.
Social Capital and Crisis Management: Research by Daniel J. Brass and Joseph Galaskiewicz highlighted the concept of “social capital,” referring to the resources available in and through personal and business networks. Organizations with high social capital tend to have strong informal networks, which are invaluable during crises. The networks provide support, foster trust, and mobilize resources swiftly.
Crisis Preparedness and Response: A study published in the “Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management” suggested that informal networks are particularly effective in crisis preparedness and response. They often act as a parallel process to formal mechanisms, filling gaps in the official response and aiding in the resilience-building process.
Learning and Adaptation: Informal networks also facilitate organizational learning and adaptation. According to research in organizational theory, these networks can help organizations identify lessons from the crisis more effectively and implement changes required to prevent future crises or to mitigate their impacts.
Post-Crisis Recovery: Research indicates that informal networks contribute significantly to the speed and effectiveness of post-crisis recovery. They provide psychological and social support to employees, which is crucial for maintaining morale and engagement during the recovery phase.
Case Studies: Specific case studies, such as those examining businesses after natural disasters or significant industry disruptions, often highlight how companies with more robust informal networks could better navigate the crises. These case studies typically emphasize the role of non-hierarchical communication and community-building within the workforce.
In summary, while formal structures are essential for day-to-day operations and maintaining order, informal networks are critical in enhancing organizational resilience by promoting faster response, greater adaptability, and comprehensive learning during crises. Organizations that recognize and nurture these networks are often better equipped to handle unexpected challenges.
Roots versus Mycelium
Dave Snowden compares informal networks to a mycelium network, with formal networks akin to the roots of a tree. It is a vivid and insightful metaphor that highlights the unique and crucial roles each plays within an organization. Here’s how this analogy helps us understand their importance and function:
Mycelium Network (Informal Networks)
- Extensive Reach: The mycelium, a network of fine, thread-like structures called hyphae, spreads extensively underground, much like the unseen reach of informal networks in an organization. This analogy underscores the importance of recognizing and leveraging these informal connections, often more influential than formal structures.
- Resource Distribution: Just as mycelium transports nutrients across a fungus, informal networks in an organization facilitate the flow of information and resources. These networks can bridge gaps and reach areas that formal structures might not easily access, making them invaluable for efficient resource distribution.
- Adaptability: Mycelium can adapt its growth to environmental conditions and is resilient to changes. Informal networks in organizations share this adaptability, providing flexibility and the ability to respond dynamically to new challenges or information. This adaptability is a key strength that formal structures often lack.
- Support and Symbiosis: In nature, mycelia form symbiotic relationships with other organisms, notably plants, enhancing their growth and resilience. In organizations, informal networks can foster symbiotic relationships among employees, improving cooperation and support that contribute to organizational health and resilience.
Tree Roots (Formal Networks)
- Stability and Structure: The roots of a tree provide stability and are essential for the tree’s nourishment, anchoring it into the ground and absorbing water and minerals. Formal networks offer structure and stability, defining roles, responsibilities, and processes that keep the organization functional and grounded.
- Support Large-Scale Functions: Just as roots support the tree’s growth and enable it to scale up, formal organizational structures support large-scale business functions and strategic objectives, ensuring the organization can grow and sustain itself over time.
- Predictability: Roots grow in more predictable patterns compared to mycelium. Similarly, formal networks provide predictable and repeatable processes and interactions essential for efficiency and compliance.
This metaphor beautifully encapsulates the complementary nature of formal and informal networks. While formal networks provide the necessary structure and order, informal networks bring the adaptability and interconnectedness needed to navigate complex environments effectively. Recognizing and nurturing both types of networks can enable organizations to remain robust and responsive in a dynamic world.
Informal Network versus Matrix Organization
Maintaining a simple formal organizational structure while fostering a robust informal network can offer a balance between clarity and flexibility, which is crucial for resilience and responsiveness. This approach can mitigate some common pitfalls associated with more complex organizational structures like matrix organizations, which, while intended to enhance flexibility and responsiveness, often lead to confusion due to overlapping responsibilities and dual-reporting lines.
Here are a few reasons why maintaining this balance is beneficial:
Clarity and Efficiency: A simple formal structure ensures that the organization’s essential operational functions are clear and efficient. Roles, responsibilities, and lines of authority are well-defined, which can decrease ambiguity and enhance productivity.
Flexibility and Adaptation: The informal networks provide a dynamic capability to adapt and respond to unforeseen challenges. These networks can operate outside the rigid constraints of the formal structure, allowing for innovative problem-solving and rapid information sharing, which are invaluable in times of crisis or rapid change.
Enhanced Communication: Informal networks often lead to improved communication across different levels and departments of the organization. This can result in faster problem identification and solution generation, leveraging the diverse insights and expertise found throughout the organization.
Employee Engagement and Satisfaction: Encouraging the growth of informal networks can also boost employee morale and engagement. These networks often foster a sense of community and support among employees, contributing to a more positive work environment and higher job satisfaction.
Organizational Learning: Informal networks facilitate continuous learning and knowledge sharing outside traditional training programs or learning management systems. This kind of learning is often more responsive to the organization’s immediate needs and can lead to more innovative ideas and practices.
Resilience Building: Organizations can better withstand disruptions by combining a clear formal structure with vibrant informal networks. The formal structure ensures the continuity of critical operations, while the informal networks provide the agility to adapt to and recover from various shocks.
In conclusion, organizations that recognize and intentionally cultivate formal and informal structures are likely more resilient and better positioned to respond to changes effectively. This dual approach allows organizations to maintain order and efficiency while embracing the adaptability and innovation necessary for long-term success in a complex, unpredictable business environment.
