Let’s begin with a general postulate: The greater B’s dependence on A, the more power A has over B. When you possess anything others require that you alone control, you make them dependent on you, and therefore you gain power over them.6 As the old saying goes, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king!” But if something is plentiful, possessing it will not increase your power. Therefore, the more you can expand your own options, the less power you place in the hands of others. This explains why most organizations develop multiple suppliers rather than give their business to only one. It also explains why so many people aspire to financial independence. Independence reduces the power others can wield to limit our access to opportunities and resources.

Dependence increases when a resource you control is important, scarce, and nonsubstitutable.7

One tool to assess the exchange of resources and dependencies within an organization is social network analysis.8 This method examines patterns of communication among organizational members to identify how information flows between them. Within a social network, or connections between people who share professional interests, each individual or group is called a node, and the links between nodes are called ties. When nodes communicate or exchange resources frequently, they are said to have very strong ties. Other nodes that are not engaged in direct communication with one another achieve resource flows through intermediary nodes. In other words, some nodes act as brokers between otherwise unconnected nodes. A graphical illustration of the associations among individuals in a social network is called a sociogram, which functions like an informal version of an organization chart. The difference is that a formal organization chart shows how authority is supposed to flow, whereas a sociogram shows how resources really flow in an organization. An example of a sociogram is shown in Exhibit 13-1.

Networks can create substantial power dynamics. Those in the position of brokers tend to have more power because they can leverage the unique resources they can acquire from different groups. In other words, many people are dependent upon brokers, which gives the brokers more power. For example, organizational culture changes such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness will often begin in a single connected group of individuals, grow in strength, and slowly move to other connected groups through brokers over time.9 Data from the United Kingdom’s National Health Service shows that change agents, people entrusted with helping an organization to make a significant change, have more success if they are information brokers.10 These functions are not without cost, however. One study found that people identified as central to advice networks were more likely to quit their jobs, possibly because they did a great deal of extra work without reward.11

There are many ways to implement a social network analysis in an organization.12 Some organizations keep track of the flow of e-mail communications or document sharing across departments. These big data tools are an easy way to gather objective information about how individuals exchange information. Other organizations look at data from human resources (HR) information systems, analyzing how supervisors and subordinates interact with one another. These data sources can produce sociograms showing how resources and power flow. Leaders can then identify powerful brokers who exert the strongest influence on many groups, and address these key individuals.