Bonds without Bondage: Escaping Entrapment in Managerial Networks

This paper explores the emergence of constraints in managerial networks and the strategies by which individuals regain autonomy. Drawing on Harrison C. White’s theories, we construct and analyze a series of examples that are composite narratives informed by the second author’s work at a global investment bank. Our examples show how professional relationships, initially pursued for career advantage, can crystallize into rigid, constraining roles. We also illustrate three strategies that restore autonomy: annealing, a strategy of controlled disruption; network reaching, which establishes counter-normative ties across social boundaries; and prolepsis, a form of anticipatory rhetoric that affects action through vivid, seemingly inevitable pictures of the future. We thus portray autonomy as recoverable through strategies that reshape network ties and conversational frames. We also explore how status shapes the feasibility of these strategies, with low status requiring network reaching and trust-building dialogue, and high status supporting prolepsis. Our discussion adds to the literature on networks and leadership, emphasizing how roles, strategy, and status interact to constrain and enable managerial agency.