Brands, R., & Rattan, A. (2020). Use your social network as a tool for social justice. Harvard Business Review.

In the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, the author of this article illustrates how to impact change through using one’s social network. The primary actions to impact change through social networks are a) share and broadcast values through the network, b) empower the people with little power, and c) practicing inclusion. The value of this article is not only in the application of social change within the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, but also in applying how leaders can impact change in their organizations. The actions and concepts are the same. The application of this for me is in understanding both social change as well as organizational change. This insight will help me be a stronger leader and be able to communicate vital and sometimes difficult changes that need to happen. The article reinforces ideas from managing complexity and elegant communication in light of how to communicate change.

Byham, W. C. (2008). Start networking right away (even if you hate it). Harvard Business Review.

Networking is a vital part of leadership, and most people don’t like it or want to do it. This article outlines three actions to take when starting to build a network. These actions are a) find out who should be in the network, b) start the process by introducing yourself, and c) reciprocate the networking, it’s a two way street. Since networking has not always come easy for me, these quick lessons make it sound easy to start the process. I am to excited dive further into the networking process. Effective networking connects to our learning objectives through building leadership skills, enhancing communication skills, and problem solving in the face of complex problems.

Casciaro, T., Dessain, V., & Corsi, E. (2008). Moet Hennessy Espana. Harvard Business School.

The case study of Moet Hennessy Espana illustrates the need for elegant communication, managing complexity, and collaborative leadership. The CEO of the company uses network mapping to outline the areas in the company upon, which these learnings can be used to increase employee productivity and engagement. Managing through a complexity such as this one would be challenging and interesting. As I move through my leadership journey, I hope to find success using these tools. The article outlines all of the learning objects from this program.

Casciaro, T., Gino, F., & Kouchaki, M. (2016). Learn to Love Networking. Harvard Business Review.

Casciaro et al. examine strategies to help individuals who hate networking network more efficiently and effectively. The strategies concentrate on a) learning new information, b) finding common interests, c) ensuring that you are giving too, and d) finding a higher purpose. The striking element of this article is the idea that using these strategies will make networking feel more real, authentic, and meaningful. I have felt inauthentic when trying to network in the past, however through this program I have made great connections that are real, and I believe the realness of the connection is due to having shared interests (sharing classes and struggles) and having a higher purpose (graduating). The irony of this realization is that I am using the networking skills that I am learning through the process of learning. The connection to the learning objectives (managing complexity, collaborative leadership, and elegant communication) is clear, I am practicing how to network by learning about networking.

Clendenin, J. A. (2011). The Xerox Multinational Development Center. Interview. Harvard Business School 9-490-029.

In John Clendenin’s interview regarding the Xerox case study he created for Harvard Business School, the business leader talks about his career, what led him to Xerox, and how he feels he became so successful. He answers questions from MBA students on life, leadership, and creating value. I was struck by the passion with which he speaks about finding his values and looking inward to find the path to success and power. He also spends a lot of time talking about what power is and how to use one’s power for the good of himself and humanity. As my schooling has progressed, I have had the opportunity to look and evaluate my values. This inward examination has been built into our program and touches the learning outcomes of leadership development and elegant communication. While the leadership development in conjunction with this program is evident, the connection to elegant communication is not as clear. In elegant communication, the communicator is asked to create and deliver messages which are important to the audience. If one does not know what they believe and why, they will be left to flounder on what their audience wants to discuss and understanding. Without knowing one’s values, speaking from the heart with passion is not feasible.

Contractor, N. S., & DeChurch, L. A. (2014). Integrating social networks and human social motives to achieve social influence at scale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(Supplement_4), 13650-13657. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1401211111

Contractor and DeChurch introduce a communication methodology, which uses social networks and human social motives to explain the who and the how of social influence in communication. In analyzing network thinking and social structures, there is movement from building understanding to creating norms to acceptance of the information. While the authors use scientific information as the basis for their study, the principles also apply to organizations and network communications. This thought process for me is significant because I am interested in how communications become generally accepted knowledge. The message is not the only motivator for a communication to become a norm, who is saying the message is also important. This article connects to the learnings of this program in the realm of elegant communication and the ideals of how to create and deliver communications, which have meaning and impact.

Cross, R., Gray, P., Cunningham, S., Showers, M., & Thomas, R. J. (2011). The collaborative organization: How to make employee networks really work. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(1), 82-91. https://doi.org/10.1109/emr.2011.5729974

Cross et al. outlines the need of senior leadership, particularly in technology teams, to maximize employee networking and communication through emerging technology. This level of collaboration yields productivity, efficiency, and engagement. As a student of communication and leadership, understanding the impact of new technologies and the resulting organization and employee benefits is invaluable and will help advance my career. This article connects with the learning outcomes through managing complexity due to the complex nature of employee communication in large organizations and collaborative leadership through the need and benefit of adding collaboration tools and culture to employee networks.

Cross, R., Rebele, R., & Grant, A. (2016). Collaborative Overload. Harvard Business Review.

Collaboration in an organization has documented benefits and is vital, however, collaboration, in recent years, has taken over and lost its efficiency and effectiveness. It is incumbent on leaders to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of collaboration to benefit from it. Leaders must help employees redistributing work and making collaboration more efficient. The idea of tracking collaboration “assists” as in basketball where they track the assists of people making the actual score is intriguing to me. This would reward collaboration and help incentivize people to collaborate more. This is an idea that I could integrate into my leadership practices. This specific idea and the article connect to collaborative leadership through the processes and practices of making collaboration more effective and appealing.

Cummings, J., & Pletcher, C. (2011). Why projects networks beat project teams. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(3), 75-80.

The research conducted by Cummings and Pletcher posits that project networks are a strong tool for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and intensive work. The project network brings together members from across the organization to solve complex problems. A project network is an expansion of the project team in so far as it uses the team’s network outside of the project. This concept is intriguing to me, and I would like to be part of a project network in a business setting. As I move into leadership roles this would be something that I would like to explore. While this research connects to all of our learning objectives, the most interesting connection is to solving complex problems. Using the network team to solve complex issues should make outcomes and results easier to obtain.

Gladwell, M. (2013, June 21). Are you a connector? Malcolm Gladwell.

Gladwell blogs about how the number of people an individual knows and counts in their network grows over time. The idea is that as people use their networking skills and are exposed to more situations, the number of people that individual knows increased. The power of this growth is in understanding what having a wide network can do to help communication, leadership, and complexity. Upon taking Gladwell’s test, I received a score of 29, which for a graduate student is good. I would like to work on growing my network. Understanding one’s network impacts all of the learning that we have done in this class, and it will make my leadership journey more successful.

Ibarra, H. (2016). 5 misconceptions about networking. Harvard Business Review.

This short article states the value of creating networks by outlining the misconceptions the general public often has about networking. I was struck by the fifth misconception, which states that those closest to us, our inner circle of trusted confidants, are the most valuable. Ibarra states this is a misconception because that trusted inner circle often has the same information and perspective the I would, therefore is not able to bring diversity to my thinking and understanding. This is important to me as I build my leadership journey because the value of diverse thinking is extremely important to successful teams and organizations, and it will help in managing complexity. Networking allows a leader to respond to complexity nimbly and leverage a range of skills, talents, and experiences.

Katzenbach, J. R. (2012). Look beyond the team: It's about the network. Harvard Business Review.

Katzenbach uses the example of the Burlington Northern Railroad to illustrate the impact and power of network teams rather than traditional teams. The difference explained by the author is that network teams incorporate the talents and skills needed for the particular project. While traditional teams have mutual accountability, network teams have a stronger ability to collaborate. Within my leadership journey, I understand how and why traditional teams are needed and work. However, the concept of network teams would help me establish more collaborative teams and build a stronger network. This is definitely a process that I would like to add to my leadership. The connection to our learning objectives is in managing complexity and collaborative leadership. Network teams leverage networks, respond to organizational issues, and facilitates group interactions.

Krackhardt, D., & Hanson, J. (1993). Informal networks: The company behind the chart. Harvard Business Review.

Using network and organization analysis, Krackhardt and Hanson examine informal networks with the intent of helping leadership understand the impact of informal networks on organizations. There are advice networks, trust networks, and communication networks. Network analysis in this fashion helps leaders participate in networks that at one time excluded them. Analyzing the organizations and networks in which I work will help me as a leader and will help me communicate to my networks. Understanding an organization’s culture in this manner also will help me build stronger teams and give more productivity. Utilizing network teams connects to collaborative leadership in how teams are built and managing complexity.

Levin, D. Z., Walter, J., & Murnighan, J. K. (2011). The power of reconnection: How Dormant ties can surprise you. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(3), 45-50.

Levin et al. address whether or not dormant relationships and networks have value in the business world. Their study indicates that long-dormant relationships are valuable because they provide diversity, novel ideas, residual trust, and shared perspectives/experiences. The value of these benefits results in a more robust understanding of the situations/experiences discussed. This concept is comforting to me as I know I am building relationships now in this program, which I would like to keep for years. The reality is after graduation, I might not see these people again. The hope that these relationships can be rekindled as the years progress and provide value to both parties, is comforting. The concept also connects to managing complexity through engagement and diversity and is connected to collaborative leadership through using diversity to engage and manage across disciplines.

McGinn, K., & Tempest, N. (2010). Heidi Roizen. Harvard Business School.

The case study of Heidi Roizen illustrates how the entrepreneur and venture capitalist established and created her career through the art of building a strong network. One highlight of Roizen’s ability to create a strong and useful network was the understanding that networking is easy when one is genuine and has a reason to interact with other individuals. For me personally, networking is difficult, and it is enlightening to think that having a reason to interact with a person is networking. With this understanding of networking, the concept is not as difficult and will benefit my career and my desire to be in senior leadership. The concept of purposefully interacting with people as an act of networking connects to collaborative leadership and managing complexity. Networks provide a basis for inclusion, diversity, and collaboration, all of which allow a leader to effectively manage complexity.