Since leadership is, at its core, a process of influence, those who form broader and richer relationships with others will undoubtedly be in a better position to influence. In fact, research suggests that one of the best single indicators of a leader’s influence—not just in business but also in politics and the military—is how central the person is in the organization’s network.

Workforce analytics: Since we spend most of our working hours online, we are leaving behind a rich digital footprint encapsulating a vast repertoire of behaviors, preferences, and thoughts. Some organizations will therefore assess talent by monitoring and measuring day-to-day employee activities, uncovering new signals for potential, engagement, and

performance.

Interestingly, network analysis can reveal significant gaps between who the official leaders are and who is informally exercising leadership in the organization. For instance, research has shown that there is little overlap between individuals who are acting as the main agents of innovation—by generating ideas and proactively translating creative initiatives into actual innovations—and those with a formal innovation leadership role.

We help leaders uncover and repair HIPPO problems by measuring two key behaviors. The first is talking time, how much the leader talks (versus other members). The second is the ratio of the questions the leader asks to the statements the leader makes. We worked with our Stanford colleague Kathryn Velcich to develop a “meeting audit,” which our students used to assess all-hands meetings at five early-stage start-ups.

In a study reported in the MIT Sloan Management Review, more than 200 executives were asked to reconnect with such people and to use their interactions to get information or advice that might help them on an important work project. The executives reported that the advice they received from these dormant sources was, on average, more valuable and novel than what they obtained from their more active relationships. In fact, many of the “weak ties” activated by Granovetter’s job hunters were connections developed earlier in their careers that had been dormant.