Leading Outside the Lines: How to Mobilize the Informal Organization, Energize Your Team, and Get Better Results - Hardcover

Katzenbach, Jon R.; Khan, Zia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470589027 ISBN 13: 9780470589021

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2010

Synopsis

An all-new approach to understanding the (in)formal connections of an organization

From the bestselling coauthor of the business classic The Wisdom of Teams comes an all-new exploration of the modern workplace, and how leaders and managers must embrace it for success. Katzenbach and Khan examine how two distinct factions together form the bigger picture for how organizations actually work: the more defined "formal" organization of a company-the management structure, performance metrics, and processes-and the "informal"-the culture, social networks, and ad hoc communities that spring up naturally and can accelerate or hinder how the organization works. With dynamic examples from enterprises around the world, this book takes a timeless organizational approach and creates a powerful paradigm-shifting tool set for applying it.

• Includes self-assessment guidelines for senior leaders, front-line managers, and individual contributors
• Features organizations in business, government, the nonprofit sector, and academia-including the New York City schools system, Aetna, the Marines, United Nations, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Home Depot, Bell Canada, and the Houston Police Department

Leading Outside the Lines illustrates how leaders can make the two distinct factions work together to get the best of both.

About this title

About the Author

Jon R. Katzenbach is a senior vice president of Booz & Company, where he founded the Katzenbach Center. Previously, he was the founder and senior partner of Katzenbach Partners and a former director of McKinsey & Company. He is the author of Why Pride Matters More Than Money, Peak Performance, and coauthor of the seminal book The Wisdom of Teams.

Zia Khan is the vice president of strategy and evaluation at the Rockefeller Foundation and a senior fellow of the Katzenbach Center. He cofounded the Katzenbach Center while a partner at Booz & Company. Previously, he led the Katzenbach Partners San Francisco office and developed many of the firm's hallmark practices in strategy, organization design, and culture change.

For more information, please visit www.booz.com/katzenbach_center.

From the Back Cover

An all-new approach to understanding and inspiring the (in)formal connections of an organization

IN THIS DYNAMIC WORK, thought leaders Jon R. Katzenbach, coauthor of the business classic The Wisdom of Teams, and Zia Khan offer an all-new examination of the modern workplace, and how leaders and managers must embrace it for success. Together they reveal how two distinct factions form the bigger picture for how organizations actually work: the more defined and visible "formal organization" of a company the management structure, performance metrics, and formal strategy and the "informal organization" the culture, social networks, and ad hoc communities that spring up naturally and, in an equally vital but different way, can accelerate or hinder an organization's success.

Through compelling case studies from enterprises around the world (in business, government, the nonprofit sector, and academia)Katzenbach and Khan explore how top-level organizations balance the informal and formal elements of organizations to achieve outstanding results. Leading Outside the Lines takes a timeless organizational approach and creates a powerful paradigm-shifting tool set for applying it, showing when you can get the most done by using the informal elements that operate under the radar, and when it is in fact better to use formal processes. Most important, it illustrates how the two can work together to get the best of both. This groundbreaking book also offers self-assessment guidelines for senior leaders, front-line managers, and individual contributors who need to get better performance results.

Insightful leaders and managers at all levels know that to really lead an organization, you cannot rely on formal constructs alone; you have to use the informal elements as well. Using the information and tools outlined in this compelling book, leaders and potential leaders at all levels can tap into the power of the informal to achieve superlative performance and results.

From the Inside Flap

An all-new approach to understanding and inspiring the (in)formal connections of an organization

IN THIS DYNAMIC WORK, thought leaders Jon R. Katzenbach, coauthor of the business classic The Wisdom of Teams, and Zia Khan offer an all-new examination of the modern workplace, and how leaders and managers must embrace it for success. Together they reveal how two distinct factions form the bigger picture for how organizations actually work: the more defined and visible "formal organization" of a company the management structure, performance metrics, and formal strategy and the "informal organization" the culture, social networks, and ad hoc communities that spring up naturally and, in an equally vital but different way, can accelerate or hinder an organization's success.

Through compelling case studies from enterprises around the world (in business, government, the nonprofit sector, and academia)Katzenbach and Khan explore how top-level organizations balance the informal and formal elements of organizations to achieve outstanding results. Leading Outside the Lines takes a timeless organizational approach and creates a powerful paradigm-shifting tool set for applying it, showing when you can get the most done by using the informal elements that operate under the radar, and when it is in fact better to use formal processes. Most important, it illustrates how the two can work together to get the best of both. This groundbreaking book also offers self-assessment guidelines for senior leaders, front-line managers, and individual contributors who need to get better performance results.

Insightful leaders and managers at all levels know that to really lead an organization, you cannot rely on formal constructs alone; you have to use the informal elements as well. Using the information and tools outlined in this compelling book, leaders and potential leaders at all levels can tap into the power of the informal to achieve superlative performance and results.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0470589027
• ISBN 13: 9780470589021
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240