More On Formalizing Informal Networks

Jay Cross brings up some specific (and valid) cautionary points related to a recent McKinsey article on "Harnessing the Power of Informal Social Networks" that I also commented on here. Jay's specific points are worth reading. I disagree however that we can say universally that informal networks should never be formalized. There are indeed some informal networks that should remain "dark nets". For instance, some informal networks are incredibly personal and frankly, none of management's business. Attempts to formalize them would redefine the concept of command-and-control (in a bad way). In other instances (perhaps even in most cases), informal networks are best left alone - if the workplace is healthy overall - informal networks deliver value by their very nature of being informal. There are many instances of informal networks, and the communities that flourish around them, often fill gaps that formal structures fail to address. Such social structures provide an important feedback loop to management but that is much different than trying to formalize them. They are symbiotic and most management methods fail to provide credible practices on how to balance the formal with the informal.

That leaves us with a small collection of situations where informal networks should be formalized. One example that comes to mind would be an informal network of employees that band together for community outreach purposes. The informal network may create a call-to-action regarding volunteerism and become effective at a local level. Given enterprise interest in corporate social responsibility, there are situations when formalizing such networks could result in the effort being amplified throughout the rest of the organization and result in additional corporate resources (e.g., marketing, sponsorship, or financial) being added to the effort.

So I would still recommend reading the article, but keep in mind my earlier comments as well as Jay's with the slight twist that some informal networks might become more effective if made formal - the key point is that any formalization effort needs to come from the network and not from management in all the cases that I can think of (raising the issues as to how management makes itself available and engages such informal networks and communities that can benefit from corporate resources). You cannot force an informal network to be formal unless that transition augments the ability of those participants to achieve their goals or satisfy the reason that the network exists in the first place. 

McKinsey’s engineering approach abandons the human nature and enlightened self-interest mentioned in the first sentence. Instead of challenging people to do their best and make things work, McKinsey would hold network leaders responsible for performance. How long do you figure it would take to replicate the dysfunctional hierarchies the informal networks were subverting to get the job done?

Those of us who nurture purposeful social networks are like the landscape designers at new college campuses who don’t build walkways immediately. Rather, they see where students choose to walk and pave those pathways. You end up with pathways where people want to walk. McKinsey is more like the architect who begins by uprooting the trees on a building site because “it’s easier to design on a blank piece of paper.”

McKinsey’s suggestion to manage and measure reminds me of the bogus advice foisted off on banks in the early eighties. First a partner convinces management the bank will make millions if they just organize things properly. Swarms of recent college graduates show up with clipboards and amass mountains of data. Several million dollars later, the consultants hand off an elaborate report. I got a peek at some of the final reports. Invariably, if the bank was centralized, the advice was to decentralize. If the bank was decentralized, the advice was to rein control back to the home office.

Formalizing informal networks strikes me as a similar ruse.

Informal Learning Blog :: Bad advice on social networks. For a fee…