How To Build Your Network – Part 2 Of 2
How do I diagnose my own personal/professional network?
Take a sheet of paper and make three columns. The columns are titled name of contact, who introduced you to the contact, and to whom did you introduce the contact. Write all of the names of the most important people in your network. These people should be the people you rely on for expertise, advice, and inspiration. Make sure you think of the strength of yours ties, the resources you exchange with that person, etc when thinking about who to put down. Next, in the middle column write who introduced you to the contact. This will reveal the brokers in your network as we discussed in the first post. Lastly, in the right hand column write the name of someone you introduced to your key contact. This serves to show how you act as a broker.
The self-similarity principle says that if you’ve introduced yourself to your key contacts more than 65% of the time, your network is too inbred. This principle says that you choose people that resemble you in worldview, experience, etc. While it is easier to trust people that see things the way you do, this does not mean it is best for your network. However, you are less likely to challenge eachother’s ideas and it is efficient to work with people who share backgrounds. Nevertheless, the research shows that too much similarity restricts your access to discrepant information which is critical for creativity and problem solving. Over time, people will introduce contacts to one another and this will compound itself. I think of this as group-think.
This self-similarity principle can be best shown with an example. Columbia did a study on its executive MBA students at a business mixer. They instructed their students to meet as many different people as possible. Using electronic devices on them to record who they talked to and for how long, they were able to see who the students formed ties with. Sure enough, investment bankers connected with other investment bankers, marketing folks spoke with marketing folks, etc. They formed ties with others who were most like them!
How can we forge better connections?
The best networks are forged through high-stakes activities that connect you with others. Shared activities serve as the best way to find people for your network to avoid the self-similarity principle. Activities that evoke passion in participants and have something at stake are more likely to produce networks like our famous Paul Revere’s. Having something at stake provides opportunities for celebration and commiseration which generate strong bonds of loyalty. Shared activities will bring together diverse individuals around a common point of interest, instead of connecting similar individuals with shared backgrounds. In addition, shared activities break through people’s business roles of subordinate, relationship manager, finance genius, etc. People will move away from a superior-subordinate relationship to form a closer bond.
What should you do next?
Go for the brokers in your life! Look at your sheet and determine who your brokers are so you can start to find activities that bring you into contact with them. This will let you further develop those ties that you have. People listed multiple times in the center column are the important brokers in your life. Find your powerful brokers who will continue to share their diverse contacts so you can grow your network even stronger.
Research has shown that you can raise your level of information from what you know to who you know by creating your networks with trust, diversity, and brokerage. Creativity and insight are important but without an effective network, you may never spark your imagination or reinvent yourself. With web 2.0 inventions of facebook, twitter, linedin, and brazen careerist, we have the tools to make it even easier to not only find our brokers but also connect to their vast and diverse set of contacts.
