As featured on LinkedIn, March 6, 2024.
Networks are vitally important, whether you are in a leadership position or a professional trying to foster potential clients. What is it that we can take from social science to apply to professional services business?
Earlier this week I spoke at the College of Law Practice Management about those networks we are least likely to consider when we need connections: dormant ties and weak ties.
Think of dormant ties as those people who liked you, and you liked them, 20 years ago. You may not be connected today, but they still hold positive feelings towards you. Weak ties are those people you’ve met or heard of, but with whom you never had a strong connection. Both groups can be game changing to your careers, but it’s important to understand the differences and how each one can help.
Here are a few hints that might be useful when considering how to build your networks.
- Understanding the dynamics of networks can be beneficial. Networks help us find jobs, business opportunity, and valuable work advice, and they contribute to mental health.
- Through collaboration with individuals from different backgrounds, networks drive innovation. However, our natural tendency is towards transitive relationships – those folks who are like us and have networks that are very similar to our own.
- We are driven by a desire for similarity or homophily (loving people like ourselves) and that can limit the potential of our networks.
- Focusing too much on transitive networks may mean we miss out on connectors who bridge different groups, provide interesting connections and spark innovation.
- Diverse networks are especially valuable in times of economic uncertainty. Individuals with a diverse range of contacts are found to fare better, highlighting the importance of network diversity in navigating challenging times.
- The pandemic had a profound impact on our networks, shrinking them by close to 16% or more than 200 people. This shrinkage has made finding a job more difficult, hindered career progress, and led to less creativity and more groupthink in companies.
- One way to counteract the shrinkage of our networks is to reconnect with dormant ties – people we already know but haven’t interacted with in a while.
- Dormant ties provide unique perspectives and opportunities due to their diverse experiences since the last interaction. Reconnecting with dormant ties can lead to ideas and opportunities, making them a valuable resource in our networks.
- Research shows that weaker ties, rather than strong ties, are more likely to lead to job opportunities. Weak ties introduce us to new information and connections outside of our immediate circle, increasing our chances of finding new opportunities.
If you are interested in learning more about the topic, please just reach out. I would love to share what I’ve been learning, particularly from those in my dormant colleague collection.
