Generally, if you have enthusiastic listeners sitting in the front row of concentric circles around a center speaker, they would be analogous to ardent students who would sit in the front of the class waiting to participate in any question forums and willing to get involved in class discussions. Teachers can utilize the sociogram as a barometer in order to determine what students need to be integrated into group involvement and who needs to improve their leadership skills.
Everybody knows that the guys who sit at the back of the class are usually the ones most likely to be uninvolved in class discussions and least likely to want to be leaders. Many times the ones in the back are the ones who like to disturb the harmony of class dynamics; hecklers and ones who want to be distracted from any involvement. They find the back to be a perfect place to sit and avoid any adult scrutiny. Those students are analogous to the ones sitting in any forum far away from the speaker. Not being close means they are less likely to follow what the speaker wanted to say. They are least likely to question what goes on and so they will the most likely to leave the leave the class with incomplete notes.
How does this information translate to today's business world? Companies are looking for managers that will not take a back row. They want active participants willing to question what they do not understand.and propose solutions for bothersome and challenging situations. This is something that followers generally tend to steer away from. As businesses are in the mode of having a people who will spearhead advertising campaigns and manage the performance of the sales personnel by coming up with new sales techniques, those businesses are struggling to keep that sociogram alive by having marketing personnel coach sales teams and pick better performers for their teams. Those would most likely be the ones sitting in the front of the sales room floor asking the questions and coming up with possible answers. With the millennium generation out in the market place, gradually replacing retiring baby boomers, the challenge is on for how industry is going to respect the needs of these young people.
