While executives must project an image of professionalism and strength, they still require a network of persons to whom they can trust. The development of trust depends on the extent to which managers perceive the presence of the three most important attributes - the ability, benevolence and integrity - within their support networks, and their ability to match these qualities to the type of support they are looking for in any given situation. We model the support sought as having a high or low informational complexity and high or low emotional demand. The combinations are four types of support requested: the raw information (low, high), effective advice (high, low), emotional support (low, high), and the strategic or political support (high, high). Meanwhile, the three most important attributes (each with high or low grade) translate into eight types of support providers: a reliable partner, Harsh Truthteller, a moral compass, a staunch supporter, Star Player, Average Joe, making deals and incentives. Leaders need to be effective councils will increasingly turn to a reliable partner or severe Truthtellers, given their high level of ability and integrity. For strategic or political support, will be looking for reliable partners, because of their high level of ability, benevolence and integrity. Seekers of emotional support will look loyalists and reliable partners, as they provide a high level of goodwill and honesty. And when the three aspects of trust are less critical, the leaders are willing to make almost any of their contacts for raw data, although often they are looking for average Joes. These and other matches observed, useful data have been collected and valuable information were obtained when we tested our model on the vice-presidents, directors, CEOs and other executives in Fortune 50 technology company. "Hide
by Kathleen McGrath, Deone M. Zell Source: MIT Sloan Management Review 8 pages. Publication Date: January 1, 2009. Prod. #: SMR306-PDF-ENG
Related Case Solutions & Analyses:
LG Investments LLC: Family Business in Generational Transition (D)
The Ciputra Group: Shaping the City in Asia
What the Media Is Really Telling You About Your Brand
Employees Recognition at Intuit
Infinata: The Quest for Human Resource Venture Capital
Creative Destruction of Industrial Age and Information Age Management Principles and Creative Construction of Information Age Management Principles
Flat-Screen Televisions
EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business
Carolina Pad and the Bloggers
Doug Cook: Acquiring a Business (B)
