6.1. An Approach Informed by Organizational Network Analysis (ONA)

My senior managers and I addressed this problem by guiding the department through a series of projects designed to encourage the formation of trusted ties, improve information flow, and accomplish important work-related tasks—a crucial concern for a group with a heavy workload and an aversion to touchy-feely team-building efforts. Our entire approach—both in accurately diagnosing the problem and then designing a solution—was informed by ONA. In fact, we found that simply conducting the ONA and sharing the results improved the group's situation.

The steps we took are shown in Figure 6.1. We first conducted an expedited ONA to develop an initial diagnosis of the issues within the team. We then reviewed the results subgroup by subgroup to validate them and collect additional information. Following this, we held a workshop that was our one and only teamwide training session (which, as we'll describe, was a training session only in part). Finally, we carried out a series of practical projects in three waves, designed simultaneously to address the lack of trust within the group and to accomplish real-life tasks.