Nielsen Advisors

Working with Hanna Resource Group is a great adventure. Along the way, I've been able to meet some very interesting and capable people. Today, I'm looking forward to meeting Dr. Karen Stephenson.

Dr. Stephenson is a corporate anthropologist. I admit, I had to think about that one for a minute. More simply, Dr. Stephenson studies how organizations work based on the relationships of people. One of the most engaging aspects of her work is how she views the organization as a trust network rather than an organizational hierarchy.

As I've learned more about Dr. Stephenson's research and work, I've come to better appreciate just how important it is for us Human Capital professionals to understand the "inner workings" of the organization in addition to managing the hierarchical structure. Most of us intuitively know we need to find and engage key change agents in the organization. We know we need to identify and commit key stakeholders. But do we really know who these people are? Do we understand the different roles these people may truly play? Do we have a good way to identify each of these and then understand specifically what they can do to help the organization succeed? Maybe.