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

An all-new approach to understanding the (in)formal connections of an organizationFrom 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 DepartmentLeading Outside the Lines illustrates how leaders can make the two distinct factions work together to get the best of both.

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 hallmarkpractices in strategy, organization design, and culture change.