Learning to Look for Social Network Resources

What does the picture at the right have to do with social networks? A great deal, really. Whether you’re a scuba diver descending to that sand flat or an entrepreneur trying to get your business off the ground, you have to learn to look to find the resources you need.

Although the sand flat in the picture might appear barren and uninteresting, it offers wonderful treasures—if scuba divers know how to find them. Some scuba divers miss those treasures, because they scurry off to find something more exciting. But if you settle into the sand, you might get lucky enough to spot one of the happiest faces in the sea, the yellow-headed jawfish. Peek under a large shell to stare into the beady eyes of a conch or the claws of a hermit crab. Peer carefully into a crevice and discover the angry claws of a lobster or the menacing moray eel. It’s all there, if you learn to look, to scour the sand for the sea’s hidden treasures.

And the same is true of our social networks. Many of us focus on building our social networks—and we should. But that’s only part of the social network process. The other part is learning to recognize our social network resources and use them effectively. That’s another form of “learning to look:” recognizing the social capital your social network offers.

The sad fact is, that many of us have the social capital we need, the solutions to our problems, right there in our social networks, but don’t even realize it. Imagine that you are:

• An entrepreneur who needs to get systems in place in his growing business,
• A busy professional woman who needs someone to take your daughter to her dance class this week,
• A young manager in an IT firm seeking promotion,
• A family whose home has just been devastated by a natural disaster,
• A fifty-something tax firm manager who fears an impending layoff,
• A publishing firm executive looking to combat the stress of 50-hour weeks on the road.

In each of these scenarios, proven strategies exist for using social networks to solve the problem. Although some of these individuals might not have all of the resources they need, chances are many of them have powerful resources in their social networks, if they simply learn to look.

Where do you start? When a problem or need arises—whether it’s new or ongoing, business-related or personal, take the following steps:

• Examine your social network—the people you know. Take a mental inventory. The first people you think of will probably be close friends and relatives. They might be able to help, but the chances are good that they can’t provide everything you need. That doesn’t spell disaster, though—take the next step and
• Think about the indirect connections in your social network—Consider the people your close friends and relatives know, or ask them if they might know someone who can help. Tapping into these indirect ties is a powerful form of social networking. Next,
• Think about business contacts and coworkers—Here, too, consider not just the people to whom you’re connected directly, but ask how the people they know might be able to help.
• Consider the different locations in which you know people—Think of people you know through your child’s school or sports team, those you are connected to in your place of worship, neighbors, fellow members of neighborhood or civic associations. Consider their occupations and backgrounds, and those of their spouses. Again, think in terms of both direct and indirect ties.
• Don’t forget your online connections—Review the list of people to whom you’re connected on such online social networks as LinkedIn or Facebook. See if someone there might be able to provide the resources you need to solve your problem.

Even if you don’t identify the ideal person to sole your problem initially, this exercise will help you accomplish two things.

• First, it teaches you a critical social network skill—learning to look within your social network for the social capital you need.
• Second, as you repeat this exercise, you’ll develop an increasing sense of the social capital your social network offers—and the results will astound you.

You’ll be surprised at the number of people your social network really contains, the wide range of occupations and backgrounds among the members of your social network, the number of resources your social network offers. In short, you’ll understand what a powerful resources your social network is, once you learn to look.