{"id":10328,"date":"2022-02-01T06:52:11","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T11:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=10328"},"modified":"2022-01-31T08:53:28","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T13:53:28","slug":"leadership-operating-model-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/leadership-operating-model-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership Operating Model Design"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Most people believe that the value and impact of the C-level leadership originates from the number of meetings conducted, having the ability to plan for long term, and make key strategic decisions collectively.\u00a0 However, in reality, the C-level seldom works in unanimity to make collective decisions.\u00a0 They often have animosities with each other and lack collaboration and mutual trust.<\/p>\n

The real impact and success of the top team emanates from the informal and social networks of its members, their resolve to capitalize on those connections for strategic decision making<\/a>, and their competency to perform well in subgroups created to solve pressing concerns.<\/p>\n

Effective C-level leadership is conscious of the value of their informal \/ social networks and their ability to deal with serious issues.\u00a0 They organize themselves in a way to work as the nucleus of the organization, which gives them the leverage to promptly act on adversities or opportunities.<\/p>\n

Leadership\u2019s Social Network Analysis<\/strong><\/h3>\n

C-level\u2019s informal social network enables an organization to draw combined capabilities\u2014in-house as well as the extended network. \u00a0Top leadership needs to evaluate the strengths of their social network by mapping their informal associations.\u00a0 This can be done by conducting surveys, analyzing meetings, phone calls, and emails.<\/p>\n

The social network analysis reveals that 90% actionable information comes from this informal leadership network rather than through internal reports and datasets.\u00a0 These linkages aren\u2019t distributed evenly; some members may be highly networked commanding a major chunk of two-way interactions across the organization whereas others may have a smaller network and lesser influence accordingly.\u00a0 The analysis also suggests that poor leadership connections lead to failed decisions\u2014whereas enriched networks cause advancement in Innovation<\/a> and Organizational Efficiency.<\/p>\n

To design\u2014or redesign\u2014an effective Leadership Operating Model<\/a>, organizations need to incorporate 3 key principles in their operations:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Leverage Focused Subgroups <\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Improve Networking Effectiveness <\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Manage Conflicts at the Constituent Level<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    These 3 principles aren\u2019t simple to implement.\u00a0 It warrants evolving the very nature of how the senior leadership team functions and design a more poised and assimilated Operating Model<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s discuss these principles in detail.<\/p>\n

    Leverage Focused Subgroups <\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Senior leadership\u2019s performance cannot be judged solely by its ability to revamp the enterprise\u2019s organogram.\u00a0 Effective top leadership demands from the team a capability to form peer-to-peer, top-down, and bottom-up relationships; and work in discrete yet linked groups, each of which is focused on solving a unique problem or tapping an opportunity.<\/p>\n

    Depending upon the circumstances, leaders should adopt any of these modes when dealing with networks.\u00a0 Focused subgroups work best in 3 discrete modes:<\/p>\n