The Hidden System Behind Organizational Performance: 11/11/26 (All Ages)

👥 The Hidden System Behind Organizational Performance: How Hidden Structures, Behaviors, and Informal Networks Shape Results: 11/11/26 (All Ages)

Date: Wednesday, November 11

Time: 5 p.m.

Location: Student Center, 2nd Floor, Theater, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, 100 Seymour Road, Utica, NY 13502

Presenter: Author and Organizational Effectiveness Expert Mark I. Cushman

Description: What really determines how an organization works?

Every organization has a formal structure: leadership roles, policies, procedures, reporting lines, and strategic goals. But beneath that visible structure is another system shaped by relationships, informal networks, unwritten rules, shared assumptions, and workplace behaviors.

As part of the SUNY Poly Spotlight Series, author and organizational effectiveness expert Mark I. Cushman will explore how these often-invisible forces influence communication, collaboration, decision-making, trust, accountability, and performance.

Drawing on more than four decades of leadership and organizational experience, Cushman will examine why an organization’s intentions and its actual results can sometimes drift apart, and how recognizing the “hidden system” can help leaders and employees better understand how organizations really function.

Attendees will gain insight into:

• How informal networks and relationships influence how work actually gets done
• Why unwritten rules and shared assumptions can be as powerful as formal policies
• How hidden organizational dynamics affect communication, trust, and decision-making
• Why well-intended strategies sometimes produce unexpected results
• How greater awareness of these systems can strengthen alignment, accountability, and organizational performance

About the Presenter: Mark I. Cushman is a human resources and organizational effectiveness executive, facilitator, speaker, college professor, and author. His more than four decades of experience span engineering, manufacturing, human resources, workforce development, organizational leadership, and public service. Through leadership, consulting, teaching, and speaking, he helps organizations strengthen alignment, communication, trust, and execution.

Fee: Free

Deadline: Register by Wednesday, November 11 at Noon

Attendees: 40 (Max)