Framework
🕸 The Two Power Maps
Structural power (org chart) vs Network power (how work actually gets done). A CHRO who ignores the second is consistently surprised.
Distinguish between Structural Power (what the org chart shows) and Network Power (how work actually gets done). A CHRO navigating only the org chart will consistently be surprised by how decisions really move.
How to build your Network Power map
- Who do people go to when they need something done fast — regardless of title?
- Who do senior leaders call privately before making a big decision?
- Whose absence from a meeting causes others to delay the decision?
- Who is copied on emails they technically do not need to be on?
Four types of network power
- Information brokers — they know everything before anyone else.
- Social connectors — they know everyone, trusted across functions.
- Expertise hubs — the go-to person for a critical domain.
- Cultural anchors — they embody the old way; can accelerate or block your agenda.
How to apply it
- In your first 60 days, draw both maps side by side on the same page.
- Identify the top five people who appear on the Network map but not the Structural map. Meet each of them, one by one.
- Never announce a change without pre-briefing the Cultural Anchors — they are your single biggest amplifier or blocker.