A Network MindsetPractical Approaches to Everyday Networked

and Collaborative Behaviors

Guest lecture at graduate residencyInformation and Knowledge Strategy Masters program

Columbia University, April 8-13, 2014

Catherine Shinners

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Perspective on identity

Activate, expand one’s identity and contribution to the organizational network

Social collaboration – working out loud

Habitats of collaborative contexts

Shutterstock/Milos Dizajn

A network mindset

People are ‘situated’

Job title

Job duties

Assignments

Reporting structure

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Job title ‘grade level’ emphasis Obscured–active role, history, background, range of tacit knowledge, social capital

Corporate Directory• Jane Doe• Program Manager• 3rd level down from VP of

Supply Chain• Works in Los Angeles

Shutterstock/vajuariel

Emphasis on reporting-based tiesOrganizational identity

Ways we are known inside organizations

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Construct, groom identity

Network connections, awareness,

growth

Mobilize network

Cultivate social,

reputational capital

• Sequential account of assigned roles

• Your story about your roles

• Education• Licensing• Samples of your work

• Role-based recommendations

• Affirmations of your posted content

• Skills endorsements

• Demonstrate quality, robustness of network

Social-sharing• Comments, likes

• Discussion forums

• Metrics• Affiliations

• Profile views• Prompted affirmations

• Assess connection impact• Aggregated prompts via email

• Search, research• Direct engagement

• Outreach to network• Activate with purpose

• Develop new connections• Re-invigorate

Shutterstock/Milos Dizajn

Professional networked identity

Rich profiles

Assigned role – job position

Photo (important in global companies)

Claimed role - background, credentials

Social role– member of communities, answers questions, reflects and writes (blog), shares quick insights (microblogs) expertise based on experience (tags), exposes work products

Activities (posts, comments)

Social feedback (comments, likes)

Personal interests

Links to external assets (LinkedIn profile, Twitter presence, blogs, websites)

Develop connections to other employees (follow)

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…and yet many people leave their profile on ‘mute’

New social tools in organizations

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Director of Corporate Social Responsibility

Director of Governmental Affairs

Prepares annual public CSR report Preparing vice president to accompany governor of state on international trade mission

They both need to know about sustainability, labor and environmental practice in the company supply chain

Expertise need

Shutterstock:Cheryl Savan Shutterstock:hfng

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Manages the company’s supply chain sustainability processes• As she works in a complex, rapidly evolving domain, she updates her

profile quarterly, describing the focus of work• blogs about key business challenges in supply chain

sustainability, discusses where best practice and policy is headed with respect to suppliers

• posts information about industry consortiums that she participates in

• shares video recordings and presentation files from industry speaking engagements

• tags her content, skills, expertise• links to her public facing presence – LinkedIn, Twitter

• Her activity stream is rich with commentary and observations about her many trips to Asia-based suppliers (she’s in LA due to the frequency of travel to Asia)

• She’s a member of the sustainability and innovation communities of interest/knowledge networks

Meet Jane Doe

From org chart to network agent

Shutterstock:bikeriderlondon

profile

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Form fill exercise

• Connected, dynamic resource

• Launch point for knowledge sharing, networking

• Reflects multi-dimensional facets of roles, projects, experience

• Talent discovery

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Transparent conversational

flow of work

Content awareness

and accessibility

Network-based group cohesion & connection

Knowledge building

• Robust profiles-greater context• Share updates (microblogs,

comments, social feedback• Subscribe, contribute to, leverage

discussion forums

• Visibility of work expands knowledge base, invites diversity of inputs

• Tacit knowledge more available as an artifact

• Transparently co-create content• Social feedback (comments, likes)• Connect content to work dialogue

tags, streams

• Content change awareness via streams, alerts, filters, tags

• Collective commentary

*Bryce Williams, 2010Working Out Loud Dynamics – Catherine Shinners

Merced Group

Social collaboration-dynamics of ‘working-out-loud’

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Transparent conversation

al flow of work

Content awareness

and accessibility

Network-based Group

cohesion & connection

Knowledge building

Project content visible to stakeholders, contributors

Project interactions in persistent stream

Contributors set alerts, filters for project content -discussion forum notifications

Team members with robust, rich profilesPeople

presence- Project post or group area links to profiles of globally dispersed team

Interactive dynamics brings opportunity to elicit more tacit knowledge contributions

Transparency yields rapid orientation, onboarding; without real-time meetingsProject groups can

collectively observe content contribution - avoids duplication, mis-timing

Awareness of flow via content change or comment alerts, notifications

Group, team members activate range of feedback, expressions, inputs, keep project momentum (likes, comments, micro-posts)

Network, social dimension of knowledge inputs visible

Conversation, work stream becomes a project artifact, i.e., problem solving in context

Project interaction, problem-solving, new ideas both collective and immediate

Expand, integrate social graph around project

Content linked with context

Knowledge base builds for next project

Spatial

Temporal

Visual

Relational

Informational

Collaborative WOL practice–focus on projects, complex work processes

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Transparent conversation

al flow of work

Content awareness

and accessibilit

y

Network-based Group

cohesion & connection

Knowledge building

Global business advisory & deal assessment for large technical services organization

Global team members connect with one another for expert information

Contributors set alerts, filters for project content -discussion forum notifications

Profiles, expertise detail highlighted in profiles

Interactive dynamics brings opportunity to elicit more tacit knowledge contributions

Project groups can collectively observe content contribution - avoids duplication, mis-timing

Awareness of flow via content change or comment alerts, notifications

Group, team members activate range of feedback, expressions, inputs, keep project momentum (likes, comments, micro-posts)

Network, social dimension of knowledge inputs visible

Conversation, work stream becomes a project artifact, i.e., problem solving in context

Project interaction, problem-solving, new ideas both collective and immediate

Expand, integrate social graph around project

Content linked with context

Knowledge base builds for next project

Spatial

Temporal

Visual

Relational

Informational

Rapidly changing market conditions

Collaborative WOL practice–focus on knowledge building

Community of Practice/Knowledge NetworkShared knowledge, best practice, advance domain knowledge

Team CollaborationJoint project work

Artifact developmentCombine expertise, skills

Network CollaborationLearnings, engagement within ecosystem

Insight and influence

Rep

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Pro

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In

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role

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Inside organization

Wider world

Nature of tiesHabitats of collaborative contexts

Palo Alto, CA +1-650-704-3889catherineshinners@mercedgroup.com

blog: collaboration-incontext.comwww.mercedgroup.com

http://about.me/catherineshinners

www.linkedin.com/catherineshinners

@catshinners

Skype: CatherinePaloAlto

Social Business Strategic Consulting and Enterprise 2.0 Services