1.
The Antidote to the 10,000 Name
Contact List
Networks for Introverts
WITI Webinar
September 20, 2012
Maya Townsend
Partnering Resources
http://partneringresources.com
maya@partneringresources.com
617.395.8396

2.
A Common Tip
2

3.
The Point
The top 20% of
performers in
organizations are more
likely to cultivate and
leverage their networks
in ways anyone can
replicate.
3

4.
Learning Objectives
• Understand the science behind networking
• Identify networking practices of high performers
• Conduct a first pass at an analysis of your
network’s strengths and gaps
• Understand which network traps they are most
likely to imitate and how to remedy those
tendencies
4

5.
Agenda
• What is a network?
• How networks operate
• Q&A Session #1
• How high performers use networks
• How to network
• How people get stuck in network traps
• Q&A Session #2
5

6.
What is a Network?
Public transportation networks
help people travel in cities
Computer networks move data from
location to location
The circulatory system
Networks are about movement carries oxygen and carbon
dioxide to and from our cells
6

7.
The Simplest Network
Human networks are also all about movement:
The movement of information
Sam knows how
to answer the
question so Mary
connects you to
Sam
You have a You ask your She doesn’t know
question friend Mary the answer and calls
Sam for advice
Problem solved!
7

8.
All In All…
• A network consists of the
trusted relationships
created in order to…
► Exchange information
► Complete work
► Get advice
► Solve problems
► Socialize
8
Image: TouchGraph.

9.
Companies like Org Charts…
Jane is at the individual contributor
level on the org chart
9

10.
But Networks Tell a Different Story
Jane
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11.
Quick Case: Critical Connector Lost
• Technology organization
• $75M operating budget
• Annual trade show was a
major revenue generation
vehicle
• The company let go of a low-
level administrator citing the
need to reduce overhead.
• They realized afterwards that
she was single-handedly
responsible for securing
millions of dollars each year
for the trade show.
11

12.
• What is a network?
• How networks operate
• Q&A Session #1
• How high performers use networks
• How to network
• How people get stuck in network traps
• Q&A Session #2
12

13.
Quick Quiz
Question #1
Using the poll feature, click YES if you can answer YES to the following question:
• Do you interact on a 1:1 basis with more than 25 colleagues each day?
• Do you enjoy collecting information about your organization or its people?
Question #2
Click YES if you can answer YES to BOTH of the following questions:
• Will your work suffer if you are absent because only you can make certain decisions or only
you have certain knowledge?
• Are most of your acquaintances unknown to each other?
Question #3
Click YES if you can answer YES to BOTH of the following questions:
• Do you have a range of interests and belong to very different organizations (sports
clubs, art groups, volunteer organizations, etc.)?
• Are most of your friends different from you in terms of their careers, tastes in social
activities, and lifestyles?
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14.
The Secret to Managing Networks:
Critical Connectors
• Identified by Dr. Karen
Stephenson
• Exist in all networks
• Critical Connectors
comprise only 5% of the
network
• Three Critical
Connectors
► Hubs
► Gatekeepers
► Pulsetakers
14
Image: © 2005 NetForm, Inc. Used with permission.

15.
The Hub
Cathy
Harry Gary
Chris
• Highly and directly connected with many people
• Communicate and disseminate knowledge through the organization
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16.
The Gatekeeper
Cathy
Harry Gary
Chris
• Serve as links between departments, functions, and groups
• Act as information gateways
• Broker knowledge between critical parts of the organization
16

17.
The Pulsetaker
Cathy
Harry Gary
Chris
• Have maximum influence using minimum number of direct contacts
• Work through indirect means
17

18.
The Pulsetaker: 6º of Separation Master
18

19.
Q & A Session #1
What are your burning
questions?
19

20.
• What is a network?
• How networks operate
• Q&A Session #1
• How high performers use networks
• How to network
• How people get stuck in network traps
• Q&A Session #2
20

21.
Network Knowledge & High Performance
41%
• 36 - 42% more
34%
likely to exceed
30%
expectations
24%
• 43 – 72% more
likely to be 15%
promoted 11% 12% 11%
5%
• 42 – 74% more
likely to stay with "Far Exceeds" Promoted to Higher Left Company
Expectations Rank
the company
BLP Graduates Control Group Others in Top 5 Job Ranks
21
From Burt & Ronchi, ―Teaching Executives to See Social Capital: Results from a Field Experiment.‖

22.
High Performers are More Likely to…
• Build high-quality
relationships
• Invest in relationships to
extend expertise, balance
biases, and prevent career
traps
• Position selves at key network
points and leverage people
The top 20% of employees are more around them
likely to build and maintain personal
networks
• Cultivate select ties with
external experts
22
From Cross, Thomas, & Light, How Top Talent Uses Networks and Where Rising Stars Get Trapped.

23.
Quick Assignment
Jot down the ten people
you interact with most
frequently on the job
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24.
Network Considerations of High Performers
• Operational
• Personal
• Strategic
24

25.
Operational Networking
• People who can help you…
► Get work done
► Fulfill your work responsibilities
• Contacts are usually internal and
focused on current demands
• Your job: build strong working
relationships
• Who do you need in order to get
things done?
25
Three types of networking from Ibarra & Hunter, Harvard Business Review.

26.
Personal Networking
• People who can help you…
► Grow personally and professionally
► Provide referrals to useful
information and contacts
► Give honest, caring feedback
• Contacts are usually external and
share current interests or future
potential interests
• Your job: Reach out to people who
can make referrals or give advice
• Who do you need in order to
develop professionally?
26
Three types of networking from Ibarra & Hunter, Harvard Business Review. Image by Wonderlane on flickr.

27.
Strategic Networking
• People who can help you…
► Figure out future priorities and
challenges
► Get stakeholder support for
the future you want to create
• Contacts are future-oriented
and can be internal or external
• Your job: Create leverage—
draw on resources from one
area to achieve results in
another
• Who do you need to build
the future you want?
27
Three types of networking from Ibarra & Hunter, Harvard Business Review. Image: Aussie Gal on flickr.

28.
• What is a network?
• How networks operate
• Q&A Session #1
• How high performers use networks
• How to network
• How people get stuck in network traps
• Q&A Session #2
28

29.
Network Size Remains Constant
Tribe 1155
Village
148
Overnight
Camp
38
Core
Group
2-6
29
Data: Christakis & Fowler, Connected.

30.
The Power of the Tribe
• Weak links outperform
strong links when
attempting to connect
to a different world
• 25% of jobs secured
through contacts who
were hardly ever seen
(Granovetter study)
30
Data: Koch & Lockwood, Superconnect.

31.
What We Want
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32.
The Minimalist Approach
Identify the critical connectors and gaps in
your network. Then…
1. Schedule two coffee meetings per month
2. Forward two emails per week
3. Walk around the office and talk with
people two times per day
32

33.
The Key to Building Your Network
33
Photo: Sizumaru’s Photo Stream, Flickr.

34.
• What is a network?
• How networks operate
• Q&A Session #1
• How high performers use networks
• How to network
• How people get stuck in network traps
• Q&A Session #2
34

35.
Watch out for network traps…
The bottleneck The formalist The biased learner
The disconnected
expert
The surface networker
35
Images: Gijs van Kooten et al. Traps: Cross, Thomas, & Light, How Top Talent Uses Networks and Where Rising Stars Get Trapped

36.
Quick Quiz: Network Traps
Which network trap are you most likely to fall into?
(A) Bottleneck – Has too much on their plate or has a tendency
to be controlling
(B) Formalist – Relies too much on the formal structure and
misses the nuances
(C) Disconnected expert – Knows what they know… but
doesn’t keep up with new learning
(D) Biased learner – Draws too much on old relationships or
―like‖ individuals
(E) Surface networker – Knows a lot of people superficially but
hasn’t built trust
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37.
What can you do if you’ve fallen into
a networking trap?
Bottleneck Biased learner
Formalist Identify areas of
Find
Identify brokers, informal overinvestment and
information, decisions, and
decision makers, and other underinvestment and take
tasks that can be
key network players and steps to balance the
reallocated and/or mentor
align with the formal system network
others to provide backup
Surface networker
Disconnected Expert Refocus attention on what
Identify skill gaps and build can be offered, not just
ties to those who can help what can be received, and
fill gaps build relationships with
critical individuals
37

38.
Q & A Session #2
What are your burning
questions?
38

39.
About the Presenter
• Founder of Partnering Resources, a management consulting
company.
• Specializes in helping companies meet complex change and
collaboration challenges using network knowledge.
• Client list includes Alcatel-Lucent, Andover / Phillips Academy,
eCopy, eTeck, Fidelity Investments, Financial Profiles, Hanover
Insurance Group, MIT, and Merrimack Pharmaceutical,
National Air and Space Administration, and the National Braille
Press.
• Teaches leadership, strategy, collaboration, and alignment through Boston
University Corporate Education Center.
• Published by CIO.Com, Mass High Tech, Chief Learning Officer, Talent
Management, and other magazines and journals.
• Serves on the Editorial Review Board for OD Practitioner, the premier
organization development practitioner journal in the US.
• Blogs at http://partneringresources.com and http://www.futureofworkenabled.com
• Likes chocolate a lot.
maya@partneringresources.com |617.395.8396|http://partneringresources.com