Have you observed certain individuals seem to be connected to every interesting project in organizations where you’ve worked?  In the paper, The Collaborative Organization: How to Make Employee Networks Really Work the authors used organizational network analysis (ONA) software to look at collaboration in large IT organizations.

Early Thinking:

Want a raise – Collaborate:  Collaborators cited as best performers, translated to better performance reviews.  Assuming better performance reviews results in better raises – get collaborating.

Feeling tired, low job satisfaction – then interact: The organizational network is a source of energy; collaboration with high performers increases participant energy level according to the research.  Research also concluded that “the energized” had greater job satisfaction. Generalizing, I agree that extroverts would consider the social interactions energizing.  I wonder how the introverts feel.

Need innovation – context shift:  Innovation often involves migrating ideas from one context to another. ¹

Collaboration is not the intent – it’s results of course: This research found the least efficient IT programmers spent twice the time collaborating, as did the average programmer.²

Blink Analysis:

The collaboration paradox: Collaboration by itself does not create more innovation or high performing teams but without it, teams don’t win either.  Using standard management techniques may encumber it too.  Leadership should be an appropriate part of the network so it functions to meet the business objectives without weighting it down.  That takes skill indeed.

1. A.B. Hargadon, “Firms as Knowledge Brokers: Lessons in Pursuing Continuous Innovation” California Management Review, 40, no. 3 (spring 1988): 209-227.
2. R. Cross, P. Gray, S. Cunningham, M. Showers, R. Thomas, “The Collaborative Organization: How to Make Employee Networks Really Work”, MITSloan Management Review, 52, no. 1 (fall 2010): 83-90.