The Invisible Organization

How Informal Networks can Lead Organizational Change

Despite valiant efforts and the advent of techniques such as delegation, career development, performance management, key performance indicators, programme and project management, social network analysis, and employee engagement, most organizations struggle to beat the 70 per cent failure rule for profound, people-disruptive business change. Surveys show that most employees are still disengaged from their work. Innovation is sluggish and agility elusive. Harnessing the hidden potential of your workforce can be a slow, often painful process. Neil Farmer's The Invisible Organization explains how to adapt your organization's design to the informal networks that form most of the basis for communication between managers and employees. The book explores five key themes: ¢ Executive leadership - a little autocracy and a lot of collaboration; how senior managers can enable and facilitate change; ¢ Effective first-line management - in most organizations up to 60 per cent need to be replaced and women need to occupy far more significant roles; ¢ HR Managers - a key role, but most don't make the transition from 'command and control' towards the effective use of key influencers and informal network which allows HR people to contribute to the future of their business: ¢ The value of local influencers and those with extensive personal networks - how to identify them and increase their roles across all forms of business change; ¢ Radical changes to white-collar outsourcing - to an in-house outsourcing service. This is an important, if somewhat painful, call to arms for leaders and HR specialists across all organizations.