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As much as we might be "sick and tired" of the word "networking," most often our success is linked to the strength of our connections on a number of levels.

The leaders of today didn't get to where they are alone. Their network played a role in helping them achieve their positions.

Along with networking for all the obvious reasons, whom we network with, or should I say, "the strength of our ties" will create surprising results for our efforts.

My friend and colleague, Eric Foster, a social researcher and writer, studied the dynamics of networks including the "strength of weak ties." I found his research interesting and asked him if I could share some of his findings with you.

I believe you will enjoy it as well.

Linda Yaffe
Certified Executive Coach

Making Your Network Work for You

In business, we are frequently reminded that success depends on our making and maintaining a network of associates. This is time-honored good advice for a number of reasons.

First, no one can accomplish much alone. In varying degrees of relationship, we act in concert with others to achieve ends that are larger than ourselves. We conceive of projects that require the cooperation and coordination of multiple talents. Whether we function day-to-day with others in a corporate atmosphere where interactions are compressed together in space and time or as a freelancer where interactions are more rarefied, it is the minds and actions of numerous players that gets the job done. You are inevitably connected to a network, so managing your place in it is essential to your professional well-being.

Second, a web of connections supplies you with the greatest degrees of freedom when change comes. And, of course, change always comes, often unpredictably and swiftly. At one extreme, this might be an unforeseen layoff or the sudden cultural transformation resulting from an acquisition or merger. But, more benignly, it could mean the heady adjustments that come with promotion, key life events, or even a long-planned career change. At such times, relying on your network for essential information and support will make the growing pains easier to bear and benefit from.

Third, the exposure to personnel talent and organizational knowledge that networking allows is an excellent way to advance your own skills and position. Amassing opinions that are not your own - and getting feedback on your own opinions - eventually leads to those "Aha!" moments when the way things work clicks into place, and we understand the environment and our place in it better than we did before. In this sense, networking leads us out of Plato's cave, where we once looked only at shadows of reality and now we see the real thing directly.

These, then, are the primary benefits of networking in the professional business arena.

An important feature of networks that people often overlook is called the "strength of weak ties." The term, coined in 1973 by sociologist Mark Granovetter, refers to the fact that people with whom you have well-developed connection are less likely to have important information that could allow you to understand your situation, move to the next level of expertise, or find a new colleague or work opportunity. Granovetter discovered this network property by asking many people what path led them to their current job positions. In most cases, he found, people were tipped off to opportunities through acquaintances rather than friends or immediate colleagues. Granovetter reasoned that people have already mined their inner circles so that after a while only redundant information is passed back and forth at that level.

The strength of a tie is a combination of time spent together, recency, reciprocity, and intimacy. Your strong ties generally concern people who you know well, who constitute your regular contacts, and who form your primary circle. Weak ties, on the other hand, generally link you to completely different groups of people, where fresh perspectives, unknown talents, and new opportunities await.

The counterintuitive thing about Granovetter's discovery is that we don't want to reach out to people with whom we have strong ties when we are looking to expand our horizons. Therefore, if you are looking for real mobility in any aspect of your work, look to your weak ties - someone you may know through a friend of a friend, those with whom you have social contact infrequently, or people whom you may have known "in a previous life" - to take best advantage of networking. 

Eric K. Foster, PhD
                            Principal, MDF Research
                            Solutions for Social Data

Linda Yaffe
Working Matters 

WorkingMatters' principal, Linda Yaffe, a Leadership Development and Certified Executive Coach, uses her senior and executive level management experience to help you achieve your business and career goals.

Whether you are jump-starting a business, advancing your career, an executive or president, Linda’s coaching expertise will provide you with the essential focus, skills and behaviors needed to perform, advance and lead in today’s business environment.

As well, Linda works closely with companies like yours focused on "high potential grooming and leadership performance enhancement" geared toward your top talent and next generation of leaders.

Linda delivers bottom-line benefits to individuals and organizations focused on moving to the highest levels of learning, performance and achievement.

In addition to coaching, Linda delivers Leadership Workshops to small and large businesses.

Linda abides by the strict code of confidentiality and adheres to the highest standard of ethics in accordance with the International Coach Federation.

For more information, please contact Linda by email at LYaffe@WorkingMatters.com