Chapter 18. EMBEDDING A NETWORK PERSPECTIVE INTO LEADERSHIP

Michael Chavez and Mara Green

"Our leaders and managers need help developing effective networks." We hear this quite a bit nowadays from our clients. In our work designing leadership development programs for organizations, it is becoming clear that large companies now consider the ability to create effective networks to be key to the development of talent at all levels: senior leaders, high-potential employees, and new hires. Our clients increasingly ask us to create educational experiences that enable participants to explore the impact of networks on their thinking, performance, and leadership.

In this chapter, we will share some of our approaches to embedding networks—as a practice—into leadership at all levels, from executive teams to new hires. We call them "practices" because they are intended not only to allow participants to learn about the power of networks but also to provide a foundation for them to continue their leadership development long after a formal program ends.