Building your Network and Social Capital

0:09 welcome 0:10 in this session you'll learn about how 0:12 your network can help you achieve your 0:14 goals in life 0:15 you'll have an opportunity to assess 0:17 your network and determine the ways in 0:19 which it's helping you achieve your 0:21 goals 0:21 and what you can do to make it even 0:23 stronger 0:25 now think about the times that you 0:27 depended on someone 0:28 to give you information advice support 0:31 or an introduction to someone else 0:34 did you hear about a job a promotion or 0:36 another work opportunity 0:38 did you learn about a good restaurant 0:40 daycare or a class to take or avoid 0:44 did someone introduce you to someone who 0:45 would become an important part of your 0:47 life 0:48 a neighbor a colleague or someone to 0:50 love 0:52 did someone give you emotional support 0:54 in a time of need 0:56 now our relationships play a central 0:59 role in helping us make 1:00 and implement the big and the small 1:03 decisions 1:04 through which we build our lives achieve 1:06 our goals and contribute to others 1:09 most people develop their network 1:11 primarily by chance 1:13 for example by connecting to the people 1:15 they happen to live next to or the 1:17 people they work with 1:18 but your network also can and it should 1:22 be developed more proactively in a way 1:24 that strategically builds mutually 1:26 supportive relationships 1:28 that benefit not only you but others 1:31 your teams your organizations 1:33 and your communities one way to find out 1:37 the effectiveness of your network is to 1:39 build what researchers call 1:40 a sociogram 1:44 write your name in the middle of a piece 1:46 of paper or 1:47 put your name on a post-it note and put 1:49 it on a wall 1:51 now think about the people you've 1:53 connected to in the past six months 1:55 for example to discuss important issues 1:58 to socialize 1:59 to get your work done or to help someone 2:02 else get their work done 2:03 to get or give support for a project or 2:06 to get and give 2:07 advice or emotional support 2:10 now write the names of each of these 2:12 people around your name 2:14 putting clusters of people who are in 2:16 similar groups together 2:18 for example you might have a family 2:19 cluster a work cluster 2:21 a neighborhood cluster school cluster a 2:24 religious institution cluster 2:26 club or hobby cluster or maybe a 2:28 children's school or activity cluster 2:32 now draw a line between people who know 2:34 each other 2:35 both within and across these clusters 2:39 and put a star next to the people you 2:41 know very well 2:42 these will be your strong ties 2:46 your sociogram is a visual depiction of 2:49 your social 2:50 connections your network is made up of 2:52 individuals and clusters of people 2:55 who are connected by links it's your 2:57 connections to these people 2:59 as well as the links among the people in 3:01 your network 3:02 that predict the type and amount of 3:04 social capital you have 3:06 as well as the speed by which you get 3:08 access to these resources 3:11 now it's likely that your network is too 3:13 complicated to be adequately represented 3:15 by this drawing 3:17 eventually you'll run out of space or 3:19 the lines that connect people will 3:21 become so 3:21 dense that you won't be able to make 3:23 sense of your network diagram anymore 3:26 but by drawing your sociogram even if 3:29 it's an imperfect and simple drawing 3:31 you'll learn about some of the key 3:32 characteristics of effective networks 3:35 and how your network can help and hinder 3:37 you from achieving your goals 3:40 researchers are clear that the most 3:42 successful people 3:44 do not leave their networks to chance 3:47 rather they systematically 3:48 build maintain and use their networks to 3:52 create 3:52 mutually supportive personal and 3:55 professional relationships 3:56 that add value not only to themselves 3:58 but to others as well 4:01 you can assess your network by focusing 4:04 on four characteristics 4:06 size structure diversity and strength 4:10 i will discuss each of these now and as 4:12 you 4:13 learn about each of these 4:14 characteristics consider what they tell 4:16 you about the effectiveness of your 4:18 current network 4:19 given your goals the size of your 4:23 network 4:24 refers to the number of people you have 4:26 in your professional and personal 4:27 networks 4:29 researchers have found that people with 4:31 larger networks in their organization 4:33 tend to gain more knowledge about the 4:35 organization and its strategy 4:38 especially if they know people in many 4:40 different parts of the organization 4:43 researchers have also found that people 4:45 who are socially isolated 4:47 and lonely are at a higher risk for a 4:50 variety of health 4:51 problems and mortality and the 4:54 researchers say it's on 4:56 par with smoking obesity elevated blood 4:59 pressure 5:00 and high cholesterol 5:03 the structure of your network refers to 5:05 the degree to which the people in your 5:07 network are connected to each other 5:10 when you look at the sociogram you drew 5:12 of your network 5:13 are most of the people connected to each 5:15 other or are there gaps between people 5:18 and groups 5:20 researchers have found that the 5:21 structure of your network 5:23 can be more important than the size of 5:25 your network 5:26 because of what they call redundancy 5:30 regardless of how many people you have 5:32 in your network 5:33 if most or all of them know each other 5:36 they're likely to share a lot of the 5:37 same resources 5:39 the same information expertise contacts 5:41 and opportunities 5:43 and this gives you a narrower range of 5:45 resources 5:48 a network in which most people know each 5:50 other is considered to be called 5:52 closed or dense 5:56 if you spend most of your work day 5:58 interacting only with people on your 6:00 team 6:00 or in your department and those same 6:03 people live in the same neighborhood 6:05 and they go to the same religious 6:07 institutions and social clubs 6:09 you're likely to have a relatively 6:11 closed network 6:13 and closed networks have the advantages 6:16 of having more trust 6:17 loyalty predictability cooperation and 6:20 cohesiveness 6:22 it's easier to build a shared identity 6:24 and common goals in a closed 6:27 network but there are several downsides 6:30 as well 6:31 you're likely to have access to fewer 6:33 and less diverse resources in a closed 6:35 network you're also likely to have less 6:38 influence outside your group more likely 6:41 to develop 6:42 us versus them perspectives and more 6:45 likely to engage in group 6:46 think because people in your network may 6:48 be more inclined to support what each 6:50 other 6:51 already believes if you have 6:54 a lot of people in your network who 6:56 don't know each other 6:57 then your network is considered to be 6:59 relatively open 7:01 if your network is open you are likely 7:04 to enjoy the benefits of 7:06 more social capital because contacts 7:08 that aren't redundant 7:10 provide you with more unique information 7:12 contacts support 7:14 and opportunities researchers call the 7:18 gaps between the people and groups who 7:20 don't know each other 7:22 structural holes they found 7:25 that people who have more structural 7:27 holes in their network 7:29 tend to be higher performers get 7:31 promoted more often 7:33 get paid more have more influence and 7:36 demonstrate greater creativity 7:39 there are many reasons for this if you 7:42 have an open network 7:43 you have more visibility among people in 7:45 many different places 7:47 people in different social and 7:49 professional circles 7:50 give you access to more diverse 7:52 information skills 7:53 opportunities and contacts to their 7:55 networks and you can get this access 7:58 more quickly you're likely to have more 8:01 influence because you can act as a 8:03 bridge that brings people in groups who 8:05 don't know each other together 8:07 and by doing so you provide others with 8:10 valuable contacts and resources 8:12 that they would not have if you weren't 8:14 in their network 8:16 researchers have found that people who 8:19 are connected to multiple groups 8:20 for example family neighborhood work 8:22 religious institutions 8:24 tend to be healthier live longer and 8:27 have 8:27 less cognitive decline in one 8:30 particularly interesting study 8:32 researcher sheldon cohen and his 8:34 colleagues recruited 276 8:37 healthy people to have nasal drops with 8:40 two rhinoviruses 8:41 that's the common cold germ put into 8:44 their noses to find out who would catch 8:46 a cold 8:47 and who wouldn't they found that the 8:49 people who were connected to diverse 8:51 social groups 8:52 were actually less likely to catch a 8:54 cold 8:57 just as with closed networks there are 8:59 limitations to open networks as well 9:01 in an open network the people are less 9:04 likely to share common goals 9:05 and they may be more likely to 9:07 experience conflict 9:09 if you have access to too much 9:11 information and too many resources 9:14 you can start to feel overloaded and the 9:17 cost of keeping up with your network 9:19 becomes higher than the benefits 9:22 the diversity of your network matters as 9:25 well 9:26 you can have a lot of people in your 9:28 network and know people in many 9:30 different places 9:31 but if most of the people share the same 9:33 identity groups 9:34 say race gender nationality religion 9:37 class 9:38 age even hierarchical level in the 9:40 organization 9:42 your network can still lack an important 9:44 kind of diversity 9:46 when you look at your network how 9:48 diverse are the people in 9:50 it a diverse network shares many of the 9:53 same advantages of open networks 9:55 access to more and different resources 9:58 for example 9:59 someone who is older can often offer 10:02 younger employees more experience and 10:04 knowledge 10:04 as well as a rich pool of contacts 10:07 whereas someone who is younger can offer 10:09 older employees fluency with the newest 10:11 technologies 10:12 as well as fresh perspectives that are 10:14 not entrenched in long-held ways of 10:16 thinking 10:18 not surprisingly you're more likely to 10:20 get career sponsorship 10:22 if you know people who work in higher 10:24 organizational levels 10:25 especially if you've earned their 10:27 respect and they've heard good things 10:29 about you from people who work in lower 10:31 levels of the organization 10:34 and note that having a diverse network 10:36 is useful 10:37 only if you take advantage of the 10:39 benefit the diversity brings 10:41 researchers robin ely and david thomas 10:44 found that organizations benefit most 10:46 from diversity 10:47 when organizational members are 10:49 encouraged to use their different 10:50 perspectives to make decisions 10:52 and help their teams achieve their goals 10:56 you also want to consider the strength 10:58 of the connections you have with the 10:59 people in your network 11:00 you have strong ties to people you know 11:03 very well 11:05 and are mutually invested in each 11:06 other's success and well-being 11:08 for example your family close friends 11:11 and colleagues who you interact with 11:13 regularly 11:14 you can think of a strong tie as someone 11:17 who is a confidant 11:18 someone who you feel comfortable telling 11:20 things to that you may not share 11:23 with more casual ties you have 11:26 weak ties to people with whom you 11:29 interact infrequently 11:30 and with whom you have little emotional 11:32 investment 11:34 for example casual acquaintances 11:36 neighbors you wave to in the morning on 11:38 the way to work but don't know them very 11:40 well 11:41 students you've met in class but don't 11:42 see outside of class 11:44 and colleagues you see at meetings but 11:46 don't work with closely 11:49 now both strong and weak ties contribute 11:52 to your success 11:54 the advantage of people with whom you 11:55 have strong ties 11:57 is that you can count on them to give 11:59 you emotional support provide career 12:01 sponsorship 12:02 and come through for you with the 12:04 resources you need if they have the 12:06 ability to do so 12:08 they also may be more willing to take 12:10 the risk to pass on sensitive 12:11 information to you 12:13 or take more time to discuss more 12:15 complex issues with you 12:17 on the other hand the people with whom 12:19 you have weak ties 12:21 can be more helpful than strong ties for 12:23 finding jobs 12:24 because you're likely to have more weak 12:26 ties and they are likely to have access 12:29 to not only more information about job 12:31 opportunities 12:32 but also more diverse information about 12:35 these opportunities as a word of advice 12:39 some people focus on having a strong tie 12:42 with one mentor 12:43 but researchers have found that people 12:45 with multiple mentors benefit more 12:48 because each mentor can provide 12:50 different benefits one may introduce you 12:53 to job opportunities and another may 12:55 help you learn specific 12:56 task skills one may give you political 12:59 advice and another may provide emotional 13:01 support 13:02 as you navigate through the challenges 13:04 in your organization 13:05 and in your career and remember too 13:08 that you'll need sponsors as well as 13:11 mentors 13:12 a simple way to distinguish between 13:14 sponsors and mentors 13:16 is this a mentor gives you advice 13:19 for example a mentor may advise you to 13:22 take on new job responsibilities 13:24 build your network or develop your 13:26 presentation skills 13:28 a sponsor gives you opportunities such 13:30 as 13:31 introductions to important people 13:33 opportunities to be on high profile 13:35 committees 13:36 and strong recommendations for jobs 13:40 now that you know more about the 13:42 different characteristics of your 13:43 network 13:44 think about what aspects of your current 13:46 network will help you achieve the goals 13:48 you have for your organizations your 13:50 communities 13:51 family and for yourself as well as what 13:54 steps you can take to strengthen your 13:55 network 13:58 is your network more closed or open 14:02 do you have structural holes in your 14:04 network and are you connecting people 14:06 across different parts of your network 14:10 do you have much diversity in your 14:12 network 14:13 is your network focused more on home 14:16 work or community service 14:19 do you have both strong and weak ties 14:22 keep in mind that there's no one best 14:24 network that works for everyone 14:26 because everyone has different goals the 14:28 best network for you 14:30 is the one that helps you meet your life 14:31 goals helps others achieve their goals 14:34 and adds value to your family 14:36 organization and community 14:38 here are some general recommendations 14:40 for building maintaining 14:42 and using your network remember that 14:44 small 14:45 steps can result in big rewards 14:49 consider your reputation you may know a 14:52 lot of people but your network isn't 14:54 going to add much value to you or others 14:56 if they don't think you're competent 14:58 reliable 14:59 and trustworthy remember it's not just 15:02 what you say about yourself that 15:03 determines your reputation 15:05 it's what other people say about you as 15:07 well 15:09 and remember that reciprocity is at the 15:11 heart of all effective networks 15:13 think about the past week how much did 15:16 you help others 15:17 compared to how much others helped you 15:20 and then of course take action there are 15:23 many different things you can do to 15:25 build your network 15:27 you can get to meetings early and spend 15:29 time talking informally to people 15:31 rather than checking your phone or 15:33 computer you can walk to someone's 15:35 office to talk about an issue 15:37 rather than send an email you can always 15:40 help someone out who needs help 15:42 and remember that no one ever forgets a 15:44 kindness 15:46 you can introduce your contacts to each 15:48 other when you think they'd enjoy 15:49 meeting or if you think they can be 15:51 helpful to each other 15:53 you can take job rotation assignments 15:55 and international assignments that 15:56 expose you to different kinds of people 15:59 if you can't or choose not to travel or 16:01 change jobs every few years 16:03 then get on committees that expose you 16:05 to different people and perspectives on 16:06 the organization 16:08 go to conferences in your field and you 16:11 can join networking groups that are in 16:12 your profession 16:13 industry or your area 16:16 you can maintain your contacts by 16:18 staying in touch 16:20 you can send cards or helpful emails as 16:22 well as articles that may be of interest 16:24 to others 16:26 if you have children and if they're in 16:28 daycare or school 16:30 pick up your children from daycare and 16:31 school drop them off because you'll have 16:34 a chance to meet the teachers staff and 16:36 other parents 16:37 as well as your children's friends to 16:39 increase the diversity of people in your 16:41 network 16:42 you'll need to rise above the human 16:44 biases to interact more with people 16:46 who you perceive to be similar to 16:48 yourself or who are located near you for 16:51 example in the same office or 16:52 neighborhood 16:54 one way to override this bias is to put 16:56 yourself in situations that will expose 16:58 you to more diversity 17:01 when our children were little we put 17:03 them in a daycare that had a sliding fee 17:05 scale 17:05 to increase the chance that the children 17:07 they met and the parents we met 17:09 would be more diverse than if we were 17:11 all from the same income group 17:14 now i could go on and on with 17:15 recommendations but you get the point 17:18 there are many things you can do to 17:19 increase the size structure diversity 17:22 and strength of your network 17:23 and many of these actions don't require 17:25 much time or any money 17:28 i certainly understand that many people 17:30 watching this course 17:32 are very busy and can't imagine how 17:34 they'll find time to focus on their 17:36 network 17:37 but remember that there are many small 17:39 things you can do to enhance your 17:41 network 17:42 something as small as looking up from 17:43 your phone and saying hello to someone 17:46 having lunch with someone rather than 17:48 eating at your desk 17:49 or sending an article to someone that 17:51 might be of interest to them 17:53 remember too that no one ever forgets a 17:55 kindness 17:56 so please don't miss opportunities to be 17:58 kind 18:00 the important things to remember from 18:02 the session are that building 18:04 relationships 18:05 it's a need to have not a nice to have 18:08 getting ahead requires getting along 18:10 with others 18:11 and no one succeeds alone thanks for 18:14 learning about the power of 18:17 relationships