By KAREN CHO
From INSEAD Knowledge (http://knowledge.insead.edu)
Networking is not all that it's cracked up to be; in fact it can even be downright harmful, so says Martin Gargiulo, an associate professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD and expert on social network analysis.
"We know today that networks are an asset that helps 토토사이트 무소유 get things done ... (but) networks can also be a liability," says Gargiulo.
At best, networks can be a window to the world that allows 토토사이트 무소유 to understand and work with the diversity and the complexity of that world. At worst, they can be "blinders" that prevent 토토사이트 무소유 from doing so.
"If 토토사이트 무소유r network is composed of people like 토토사이트 무소유, people who all talk to each other -- what scholars call a "dense" network -- 토토사이트 무소유're pretty sure 토토사이트 무소유 understand what's going on in the rest of the organization, but in fact 토토사이트 무소유're recycling the same information ... The illusion of multiple views confirms 토토사이트 무소유r own views. But, at some point, 토토사이트 무소유 find out to 토토사이트 무소유r surprise that what 토토사이트 무소유 thought was obvious to everybody, is only obvious to 토토사이트 무소유 and the people 토토사이트 무소유 talk to," Gargiulo explains.
That is not to say that all dense networks are bad. At work, for example, Gargiulo says that if 토토사이트 무소유 have a team that forms a dense network of like-minded individuals, it will be an important resource toward achieving 토토사이트 무소유r professional goals. But 토토사이트 무소유 also need a sparse network to bridge outside that team into the larger organization. Otherwise, 토토사이트 무소유r team may become isolated and unable to get the support it needs to get things done.
"토토사이트 무소유 need to understand the trade-off between a dense, homogenous network, which can be very comforting and very helpful in a moment of crisis, for example, and a sparse network that allows 토토사이트 무소유 to reach throughout the organization and beyond. 토토사이트 무소유 do want to have that closely knit support network around 토토사이트 무소유 when 토토사이트 무소유're facing bad times. But it can also be a liability unless 토토사이트 무소유 combine it with a sparse network that goes beyond that close support group."
STRONG VERSUS WEAK TIES
One key to making networking work for 토토사이트 무소유, according to Gargiulo, is to differentiate between what network scholars call "strong ties" and "weak ties."
"I like to use the metaphor that networks are like copper or electrical wires. The thicker the wire, the more power it carries; the more 토토사이트 무소유 can help people, the more people will be willing to invest time and energy in helping 토토사이트 무소유 out."
But that also makes strong ties costly and, like thick wires, they may not be necessary to keep a relationship going.
Gargiulo cautions against having too wide a network because maintaining all those relationships can detract from the ones that truly matter. He recommends distilling one's network to a core group of "between 20 and 30 ... and sometimes even smaller; 15 or 20," depending on how sociable the person is. These people may change over time (some ties become stronger, some weaker), but there is always a core network that matters, and 토토사이트 무소유 need to nurture those ties.
"When 토토사이트 무소유 look at websites like LinkedIn, which can be extremely useful, 토토사이트 무소유 very quickly see that some people that have huge networks of 400-500 contacts. When 토토사이트 무소유 study what's going on in those networks, in fact only a very small number of ties are active, in the sense that 토토사이트 무소유 actually exchange things with them because maintaining relationships takes time."
A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
To help people better understand the complexities of networking, and subsequently calibrate their own networks to optimal levels, Gargiulo has developed a tool in the form of a social capital questionnaire. 토토사이트 무소유 answer the questionnaire online and can get a personalized report comparing 토토사이트 무소유r network with a reference group of 토토사이트 무소유r choice.
He explains: "The report walks 토토사이트 무소유 through the composition, the strength of 토토사이트 무소유r relationships, and how 토토사이트 무소유r contacts relate to one another, discussing the pros and cons of different types of networks. It also analyses what kind of resources 토토사이트 무소유 get from these contacts -- how important, how critical those people are for 토토사이트 무소유."
"One of the things that we learn very clearly in the network analysis research is that those relationships are as consequential for what happens to 토토사이트 무소유, for 토토사이트 무소유r ability to get things done and for how 토토사이트 무소유 think and how 토토사이트 무소유 view the world, as the relationships that 토토사이트 무소유 have with each other."
For example, Gargiulo says 토토사이트 무소유 may think 토토사이트 무소유 have a relationship that does not seem to be very important. But before relegating that relationship to the back burner, 토토사이트 무소유 can, with the help of this questionnaire, evaluate if that person is well connected to everybody in 토토사이트 무소유r network. If so, 토토사이트 무소유 will then be pre-empted to keep this "critical" relationship alive, because whatever 토토사이트 무소유 don't do in that relationship may affect the rest of 토토사이트 무소유r network.
Ultimately, no one is an island. "토토사이트 무소유 have 토토사이트 무소유r own abilities and experience, but 토토사이트 무소유 also have -- and this is crucial for today's jobs -- all the experience, ability (and) knowledge that resides with people in 토토사이트 무소유r network."
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