Using Network Visualization & Analysis To Enrich Leadership Development & Succession Planning

Presented By: Peter Smith President TLA Canadian Society for Training & Development 2006 National Symposium , Calgary, May 4, 2006 “ Leadership Development & Succession Planning Strategy” T H E L E A D E R S H I P A L L I A N C E I N C. Using Network Visualization & Analysis To Enrich Leadership Development & Succession Planning

Case: applying ‘traditional’ approaches

Case: review & recommendations

Case: applying Network Visualization & Analysis (NVA)

mini-lecture on NVA

application description

Reflection & questions

SESSION ROADMAP Outcome: Enhanced familiarity with NVA and its potential to enrich leadership development and succession planning

Major retail organization located in four cities with plans to become a “learning organization”:

Refocus talent management

consistent with organizational target

talent pool approach to succession planning

accelerate leadership availability

Design and introduce a new leadership development program for top four levels of management

Place new and more significant emphasis on innovation

Case: Applying ‘Traditional’ Approaches

Where might they start?

What had the Case organization done?

Nothing much on talent management process

Revisited and articulated their business goals

Developed competencies to achieve goals

Ready to design leadership development program by first engaging senior team re: leadership issues

Case: Applying ‘Traditional’ Approaches

Case: Review & Recommendations

© The Leadership Alliance Inc. 2005 - Competency assessment - Talent elite - Acquire and retain - Battleground - Learn answers and ‘fit’ - Programmed - Coaching - Vertical focus - Testing assignments - On-the-job performance assessment - Talent pool - Acquire, deploy, develop and retain - Incubator - Learn to learn - Emergent - Mentoring - Lateral and vertical focus - Developmental assignments Authoritarian T C P T = Think C = Control P = Produce T, C, P Accountable TALENT MANAGEMENT

ORDER OF ADOPTION (REJECTION) 10 20 30 0 25 15 5 35 % ADOPTERS INITIATORS TRUSTED OPINION LEADERS EARLY MAJORITY PRAGMATISTS LATE MAJORITY STATUS QUO FOLLOWERS TRADITIONALS Influence of Core Groups on Outcomes Source: Rogers, E..M. (1995), Diffusion of Innovations , 4th Edition, Free Press, New York

Recommendation was that Succession Planning be built on:

Anticipation of future business needs

Acquisition, deployment, development and retention

Compilation of key business contribution criteria

Identification of formal and informal key business contributors

Leadership and influence development

Assumption of strategic priority and executive commitment

Process that is actually usable

Integration with other HR systems

Case organization felt Succession Planning should be built on:

Anticipation of future business needs

Acquisition (development) and retention

Identification of key leadership criteria

Leadership development

Strategic priority and executive commitment

Continuity Planning … preventing expertise & knowledge loss that would reduce performance Influence Planning … developing and deploying informally influential people Leadership Planning … proactively developing and deploying leadership talent Organizational Talent Pool Managerial Leaders, Opinion Leaders, Knowledge Leaders Champions Succession Planning … proactively assessing and satisfying organizational needs Other HR Systems

Case: NVA … Mini-Lecture

There are two well-established ways to open up networks:

Network Visualization & Analysis (NVA):

the principle focus of NVA is to identify people who are formally &/or informally influential according to a given criteria or descriptive archetype e.g. formal & informal leaders

Social Network Analysis (SNA):

the principle focus of SNA is to elucidate the characteristics of a network e.g. information flow, actors’ roles, vulnerability, segregation, interceding

Identifying legitimately influential individuals, and visualizing the complexities of the relationship patterns and communication channels in networks have traditionally been difficult, time consuming, and expensive.

NVA technology:

Provides

unique x-ray view of how an organization “really works” underneath the organization charts

streamlined data inquiry and submission via Internet resulting in high response rate – typically at least 70%

Based on:

criteria or archetype(s) generated with the client organization

response information submitted directly by the organization’s employees

NVA process involves:

Development of criteria or an archetype

Emailing one or more queries to all members of a target community based on the criteria or archetype

for example “ When an organisational change is announced, who are the people whose opinion you seek out in regard to its implications?”

Collecting participants’ responses via Internet based “Pick List”

Mathematical and statistical analysis:

identification of individuals that fit the criteria or archetype (NVA)

definition of network characteristics if required (SNA)

Further practical initiatives

Networked individual

Central hub Knowledge broker Boundary spanner Peripheral individual Isolated cluster

NVA and SNA have many applications

SUCCESION PLANNNING LEADERSHIP INNOVATION RIGHTSIZING MERGERS COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE KNOWLEDGE EXPERTS REPLACEMENT PLANNING COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS INFLUENTIAL PLAYERS CHANGE MANAGEMENT COMMERCIALIZATION KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT YELLOW PAGE LOCATORS OPINION SURVEYS SOCIAL CAPITAL NETWORK VISUALIZATION & ANALYSIS (NVA) SUCCESION PLANNNING LEADERSHIP INNOVATION RIGHTSIZING MERGERS COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE KNOWLEDGE EXPERTS REPLACEMENT PLANNING COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS INFLUENTIAL PLAYERS CHANGE MANAGEMENT COMMERCIALIZATION KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT YELLOW PAGE LOCATORS OPINION SURVEYS SOCIAL CAPITAL SUCCESION PLANNNING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION RIGHTSIZING MERGERS COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE KNOWLEDGE EXPERTS REPLACEMENT PLANNING COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS INFLUENTIAL PLAYERS CHANGE MANAGEMENT COMMERCIALIZATION KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT YELLOW PAGE LOCATORS OPINION SURVEYS SOCIAL CAPITAL NVA & SNA

NVA/SNA study objectives:

Identify the most legitimately influential formal or informal leaders and innovation champions

Gain insight into the organization-wide network of communications and relationships related to these themes

Case: NVA … Application Description

What will be involved?

NVA/SNA study process practicalities:

Data provided for target community of about 150 individuals from four senior management levels and processed in NVA server

Attributes included location, functional unit, management level, service duration

Case organization’s HR Director sent out note to the target community

A number of emails containing the questions were sent to the target community one question per day:

for example … “When you want to enhance your capability to balance your day-to-day management activities with longer-term direction setting, whose advice do you seek out?”

Responses collected from Internet based Pick List

Response period was two weeks and response rate was about 75%

NVA/SNA study results:

Provided the names and associated attributes for a significant number of legitimately influential individuals (“top 20” lists)

Sorting by attribute significantly contributed to understanding the informal communications links and influence patterns across the organization e.g. density (frequency) of communications between locations and between departments led to some remedial action to repair shortcomings

Action Learning based CoLdr, CoInf and CoInv were created based on the results providing powerful and influential counsel and support for inclusive Succession Planning, Leadership Development etc.