ONA is a method for mapping the informal relationships, information flows, and influence patterns within an organization. Unlike the org chart — which shows formal authority — an ONA shows who actually collaborates with whom, who holds informal influence, and where collaboration bottlenecks exist. It is one of the most powerful tools in the OD practitioner's kit.
Use this tool to: identify hidden influencers, surface collaboration gaps, support change management targeting, redesign teams, and understand how information really moves through your organization.
People who are highly connected — they see a lot and influence broadly. Often informal leaders. Risk: bottlenecks if overloaded.
People who connect otherwise separate groups. They prevent silos. Risk: if they leave, parts of the network disconnect.
People with few connections — may be underutilized, isolated, or intentionally siloed. Worth investigating.
Add the people you want to include in this analysis. Up to 20 people recommended for a clear visual map.
For each pair of people, indicate the strength of their working relationship. Strong = frequent and trusted collaboration. Weak = occasional or formal contact only. None = no meaningful working relationship.
Visual representation of collaboration connections across your network.
The most impactful ONA work involves structured interviews and facilitated sensemaking sessions. Avion Consulting facilitates full ONA engagements for teams and organizations of any size.
Discuss a Full ONA Engagement