The Web of Inclusion
A New Architecture for Building Great Organizations
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Published: May, 1995
ISBN 0385423640
In this book, Sally introduced the language of inclusion into the world of work.
The term “web of inclusion” originally came from Sally’s classic best-seller The Female Advantage. The women-led organizations she profiled in that book were not standard hierarchies led from the top. They were circular in structure, and led from the center.
The Web of Inclusion extended the idea by showing how inclusive webs operate in organizations led by men and women. Companies profiled include Intel, Beth Israel Hospital, The Miami Herald, Nickelodeon and Anixter. They are all very different but have one thing in common. They innovate by drawing strategic ideas from people at every level.
The Wall Street Journal hailed it as one of the best books on leadership ever written.
Each case study shows how webs can be used to solve a specific and pressing business problem.
These include:
- Redefining the market
- Becoming fairer places to work
- Empowering the front lines
- Integrating learning and work
- Building strategic alliances.
For example, webs at Intel were able to flourish because the company recognized four kinds of power. The power of expertise. The power of personal authority. The power of relationships. And the power of position. Many organizations instead privilege positional power.
The Herald used webs to make the paper a fairer place, redistributing power while changing how work was done. They solicited feedback broadly, and made it public. They insisted teams work by consensus. And they defined fairness broadly. Even if the senior team had to give up their parking spots!
The Web of Inclusion Book Quotes
“Sally has given us an important book at a critical time. Leaders wrestling with obsolete hierarchies will find clarity, vision, and guidance as they face the need for flexible and fluid management structures and systems. The Web of Inclusion gives us direction and delivers tomorrow’s imperative for leaders.”
— Frances Hesselbein, President and Chief Executive, The Drucker Foundation
“In The Web of Inclusion, Sally makes a compelling case for a core rethinking of how we structure our organizations. The managerial webs she describes make for durable systems in which information supports maximum collaboration and flexibility. If we practice what Sally teaches, our organizations will thrive in the coming decades.”
— Sharon Capling-Alakija, Executive Coordinator, United Nations Volunteers
Beth Israel pioneered the role of the nurse-manager and used it as the first step in creating a system of patient-centered care. They inverted the traditional pyramid and moved decision-making into the hands of front-line people.