How do leaders establish social capital

How is a workplace relationship like a marriage? Should leaders leave their emotions at the door? Why does opening up to others lead to incredible work? Learn how to build social capital — a soft skill with a very hard edge. Grow reciprocity If authentic leaders open up by incrementally sharing more of who they are, others will respond by doing the same. Do go first and take a risk in opening up to inspire reciprocity in others.

Graduate to psychological safety Social capital is the cornerstone on which psychological safety rests. Do learn to become comfortable when dealing with emotion. Start today Harkin comments that we often handball the creation of social capital to longevity, with the assumption that people who work together for a long time will inevitably open up to each other.

Business gets done without them, but not for long and not very well. Scholars have given a name— social capital —to the relationships that make organizations work effectively. The term nicely captures the notion that investments in these relationships return real gains that show up on the bottom line. In fact, it all sounds pretty simple and straightforward.

Managers need only get their people connected with one another and wait for the payback. Easy, right? Wrong for two reasons. First, social capital is under assault in most organizations today because of rising volatility and overreliance on virtuality. More simply put, social capital is under assault because building relationships in turbulent times is tough—and tougher still with many people working off—site or on their own.

Second, social capital is under assault because few managers know how to invest in it. Knowing that healthy relationships help an organization thrive is one thing; making those relationships happen is quite another. For the past three years, we have explored managerial activities and techniques that constitute investments in social capital. In the following pages, we will look at what managers can do to encourage connections among their people and enable trust to flourish.

But first, a few words about the enemies of social capital: volatility and virtuality. These are volatile times. Disruptive technologies spawn new products and markets daily—or at least it feels that way—and organizations respond with constantly changing structures. Businesses used to review strategies annually; now strategy is on the table constantly.

Mergers and acquisitions are at an all—time high, throwing companies together and tearing them asunder at an alarming rate. These are virtual times, too. Most people used to work at the office from 9 to 5 every weekday. Now, aided by technology, work happens in every imaginable configuration of time and space.

Telecommuters, virtual team members, and laptop—toting road warriors abound. Chances are, you are one yourself or have a slew of them working for you. Luddites we are not. There are advantages to volatility and virtuality. Volatility spawns opportunity: for every company crushed by new technology, a new one is born. But how? The first answer is straightforward enough. Managers should stop doing things that destroy it.

Companies thrive when they have dense social networks, high levels of trust, and norms of cooperation. But management theory and practice are full of ways to undercut them. They assign office locations day-to-day to the employees who happen to be on-site. It also eliminates opportunities for people to communicate their identities and connections with the organization through the artifacts displayed in personal work spaces. Reengineering and Its Progeny.

Reengineering, regardless of its original intent, evolved into a practice that valued efficient processes at any cost, and the idolatry of process efficiency is still with us. Yes, efficiency is important, but not at the cost of the breathing space and time that human connections—and thought—need in order to flourish.

The Leader As Superstar. Charismatic leaders sometimes accomplish extraordinary things, but elevating leaders to superstardom tends to negate the profoundly social nature of all work.

No one person can be an organization. Ultimately, an emphasis on larger-than-life leadership detracts from trust, collaboration, and perceived fairness.

Hypocrisy is an obvious problem. One example is praising cooperation and knowledge sharing while promoting the wheeler-dealers who keep their cards close to their chests.

When he was at Alcoa, U. Volatility and virtuality erode relationships, which is why managers must learn to invest in social capital. Avoiding big mistakes is easy. Incremental, day-to-day investments in social capital are more daunting.

They take time, energy, and focus—in a word, intentionality. The companies we studied that valued social capital demonstrated a real commitment to retention. That is, they limited volatility by working hard to make sure their people stuck around. Relationships can only happen, and trust can only flourish, when people know one another. Money is not what draws people here.

What evidently does draw people to SAS and keep them there is a workplace that spills over, in a positive sense, into nonwork areas of their lives. A food plan, available as a negligible payroll deduction, encourages people to break for lunch with colleagues. There is a company choir. An even more important relationship builder and volatility fighter than these social benefits is the opportunity—backed by the resources—to do meaningful work, including the opportunity to stick with a project as long as it remains meaningful.

SAS invests in relationships by keeping the same crew around. SAS invests in ties that bind people more deeply and positively. Connections and retention can also be bolstered by the quaint practice of promoting from within.

UPS is a case in point. While the company must recruit a number of experienced technologists and other specialists from outside, the overwhelming majority of its senior managers have worked their way up through the ranks, and many have considerable experience in package sorting and delivery.

Just as important, they have years of experience with one another. They have earned membership in durable corporate networks and communities where trust is developed and knowledge shared.

Connections also get made when companies simply help people to be in the same place at the same time. During the past decade, many companies have invested heavily in technologies that enable telecommuting, virtual teamwork, and heightened productivity on the road. But we would argue that giving people time and space to bond in person is also a form of investment. Social capital grows when team members meet face-to-face and work side-by-side. So it makes sense to encourage telecommuters and contractors not to be strangers to the office.

It makes sense, too, to give far-flung teams the opportunity to convene in one place from time to time. Intranets and electronic meeting rooms can certainly help to maintain connections and foster knowledge sharing. When it comes to social capital, allowing people to meet face-to-face is only half the battle if they talk only about work. Managers also need to facilitate personal conversations.

Sure, they promote knowledge exchange, but they also spur the discovery of mutual interests that support communities. Some companies go beyond providing conversational space and help to provide icebreakers.

The last point is important to think about, especially for leaders and mentors. One of the best ways to leverage your own network is to help others tap into it. Opening your network to others can engender reciprocity and strengthen ties with those you help. If you want to enhance your social capital, start by thinking about which strategy fits better with your style: a large number of loose ties or a smaller number of strong ties.

Then, consider the state of your network to identify what you need to do to strengthen it. Next, decide what you need to do to reinvigorate your network e. Share Post:. Leadership in Practice: Greg Kozicz of Alberici.

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