Paying it forward
This week is back-to-school week. Looking back, I’ve had many such weeks of my own: some 27 (!) as a student (from kindergarten to PhD completion) and this is my 4th as a part-time educator.
I don’t quite recall the most difficult ones, in my youngest years, when I apparently shed some tears (or more accurately bawled my eyes out!) For the most part I was happy to go back to school, even if it often meant leaving my extended family and close friends behind to return to Paris from Pondicherry at the end of the summer. But the toughest part is not the beginning, it’s the end: leaving your friends, switching classes (or schools), and jumping into the unknown. Transitions are hard, like anyone working on behavior change will tell you. It is hard to accept or lead change: growing old; losing someone; dealing with the consequences of economic crises or climate change; even moving, going back to school, or changing careers. But life is change and change is life. I admire those that take upon themselves the challenges of transformation to better themselves and the world around them.
And no one does it alone. Whether we remember to acknowledge it or not, we’ve got a whole network of people to be thankful to: teachers, friends and family, and acquaintances. One of the most influential theories in the field of sociology and social network theory, “The Strength of Weak Ties” (Nick Granovetter, 1973) supports the idea that acquaintances are likely to be more influential than close friends, especially in the context of finding jobs (the basis of Granovetter’s doctoral research).
My own experience suggests that friends of friends and 2nd degree connections on LinkedIn have sometimes been incredibly supportive in ways that were more surprising, maybe because more unexpected, than close friends — occasionally making simple yet powerful introductions, sometimes going out of their way to help. And then there’s the sheer power of numbers: we have many many more 2nd degree connections than we do 1st degree ones. Especially if we’re connected to someone influential. Thereby the importance of networking in the first place. (On the cynical side: acquaintances are less likely than close friends and family to know our weaknesses and thereby may be more likely to recommend us to a potential employer!)
The job market is broken. Organizations are struggling to hire and retain workers, while qualified job seekers have to send hundreds of applications and go through five to ten interview rounds per position in order to be hired. The future of work is not just about skills, technology, or remote work. Nor is it about “Ping-Pong and free snacks.” It’s about “flexible, self-directed forms of work that allow better work-life balance.” There needs to be more adaptability, not only from workers, but also from business leaders: instead of finding people to fit into boxes (seriously!) with inflexible job descriptions, we should be designing jobs that adapt to what people have to offer, and “hire for potential, not experience.”
Until we solve this, I’d love to experiment with ways to open up my network of friends and acquaintances — business and technology leaders, artists and designers, former and current students, colleagues. I have many personal examples of serendipitous encounters that have led to new opportunities, new collaborations, new friendships. Can we continue the trend, scale the idea, and fire up our networks?
