Understand what information your boss wants/needs to known and manage this flow
information.
Always maintain a high level of consistency and trust. Save your chips for high-
importance requests.
Find out the boss’s expectations and communicate your own expectations to the boss.
11. Whitney Young
Mon, Oct 23
Network Assessment Exercise
[CR] Excerpts from “Becoming a Leader: The Omaha Years,” by Dennis
Dickerson,
Militant Mediator: Whitney Young, Jr
. (Chapter 4)
Young asummed leadership of the Omaha Urban League in 1950, a civil rights advocacy
group. Young understood that the League needed support from the local white elite and
the black community in order to be effective. Young leveraged his relationship with local
board members to mobilize the white business establishment. Concurrently, Young
partnered with the leadership of a local black militant organization to achieve grassroots
victories. While responding to the needs of militant black members and at once
persuading white board members to join in the efforts, Young was able to give the Urban
League a great deal of efficacy and legitimacy.
Drawing from the next article (Managerial Networks), Young built his network through
both similarity and exchange. He catered to powerful white board members through
shared values and a belief in the private sector, while transacting with the militant black
base by demonstrating efficacy through compromise. His strong network was the
product of levels (extremely powerful Omaha businessmen and grassroots Church
leaders), functions and subunits (he partnered with the NAACP and other black
organizations), and identity groups (black churches, protest groups, government
agencies, and the white business establishment).
[CR] “Managerial Networks” by Herminia Ibarra
Managerial network is the set of relationships critical to your ability to get things done,
get ahead, and develop personally and professionally.
Types of Networks
Task networks involve the exchange of specific job-related resources (transactional).
Career networks are relationships with people who provide career guidance and
resources.
Social networks involve relationships with people of common background or interest.
The strength of a network is the product of levels (many levels in an organization),
functions and subunits (units outside work-related interactions), external groups
(customers, suppliers, etc.) and identity groups (ties to own group and other groups).
Building a Network
Two principles govern the development of a network—similarity and exchange. Similarity
reflects the tendency for relationships to develop between people who share common
backgrounds, values, or interests. Exchange reflects the transactional nature of
relationships. The key to a useful network is balancing the two.
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