We've all heard about the power of the algorithm when it comes to social media applications. Whether you use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, or any of the many other social media applications, what you see when you log in is determined by the algorithm being used by the application. Although to you what you see represents the sum of what people are posting and responding to, the reality is that what you see is only a small fraction of all the information being generated, disseminated, and discussed throughout that particular digital universe. In other words, there's a lot going on that you are not seeing.

There are lots of different ways algorithms can work. What do the algorithms amplify? What do the algorithms dampen? What do the algorithms value? In the case of Twitter, as we saw from parts of the algorithm shared after source code was leaked publicly, one of the things Twitter values is making sure that its CEO, Elon Musk, has his voice heard. We see evidence that many social media applications favor extreme voices and opinions because those types of posts generate more engagement which drives more application usage which drives more opportunities to generate advertising revenue for the social media companies. I'm not making a judgment call here, although I can certainly think of many different things the algorithm could favor that might have positive impacts instead of negative externalities. The simple fact is that by changing what the algorithm favors or disfavors, there will be significant differences in what people see when using the application.

For example, one could create an algorithm that just randomly picks what posts to show you. This type of algorithm favors exploration or serendipity at the expense of potentially showing you posts that you have no interest in. One could alternatively create an algorithm that only shows you posts from people who are within 100 miles of you. This would maybe build a stronger feeling of local community at the expense of any sense of global connection. An algorithm can even be designed to promote posts about specific topics, like let's say those that promote the benefits of a vegan diet. Such an algorithm might not appeal to everyone, but it will result in more people being inundated with the benefits of a vegan diet, potentially resulting in more people deciding to adopt a vegan diet. When this is done with factual information, this might be considered an informational campaign. When it is done for more nefarious or dishonest reasons, the algorithm generates propaganda or disinformation.

So the big question I want to ask you is, "What's the algorithm in your organization?" Your initial response back to me is likely something like, "What do you mean? Our organization doesn't have an algorithm!" You would be correct that your organization most likely does not have an explicitly coded algorithm, but I'd argue that the structure, practices, and informal networks in your organization are just as deterministic in how ideas, voices, opinions, etc. travel through your organization.

Just like with social media applications, how ideas, voices, opinions, etc. flow through your organization has a significant impact on which voices are heard, which voices are muffled, and how effectively ideas, practices, values, mission, and lessons learned are shared and leveraged throughout your organization. Unlike with social media algorithms, you, as a leader in the organization, don't have full control over how information and practices flow through your organization because part of the flow is governed by informal networks, but you do have influence over things like formal structure, mission, and rewards which influence behavior and interactions.

In the book "Facilitating Organization Change", authors Edwin Olson and Glenda Eoyang introduced the concepts of containers, significant differences, and transforming exchanges as the levers available to leaders and change agents to bring about change to organizations. Containers are virtual, organizational, or physical mechanisms that group people together. Significant differences represent the meaningful diversity among the people in the container that drive the necessary bandwidth of different perspectives and experience that lead to the generation of new and useful patterns for working together. Transforming exchanges are how we connect people within the container together to communicate, share information or other resources, and to develop new ways of working. That's a simplification of their very informative and detailed book, but it gives you a sense for how you can tweak your organization's "algorithm" to move closer to the ideal information and idea flow that you want to achieve across your organization.

Some of the questions you will likely want to ask yourself:

• Are the appropriate voices being heard?

• How quickly and effectively are best practices shared throughout the organization?

• Do we hear from only a select few voices or are we benefitting from the wisdom, perspectives, and experience of all of the people in our organization?

• How much difference is there in how people at the executive level and people far away from the executive level view how things get done, how well things are going, etc.?

• What's the difference in how good news and bad news flow up and down your organization?

My hope is that you will think more explicitly about the above questions and experiment with "tweaking your organizational algorithms" to see how you can get closer to your ideal flow of information, ideas, and practices throughout your organization.

If you'd like to discuss how to do so or need help in driving this change, feel free to reach out to us at https://www.practical-agility.com/book-an-appointment.