Keith Hole says revisiting a well-known communication study can help enhance your professional network.
In my previous article I talked about the importance of building a network to support anyone in the traditional health and safety field and particularly those whose remit is growing and covering additional areas such as ESG, security, wellbeing and so on. This time, I’ll delve a little deeper into the practical aspects of this and how the world of health, safety, wellbeing, ESG and beyond is truly interconnected.
Many of you will be familiar with the theory ‘Six degrees of separation‘ which suggests that every person on earth is connected to another person by a chain of six or fewer people. No matter how close the degrees of separation between each of us, the implications of an interconnected network of professionals in the safety community and beyond are profound. It’s not what you know but who you know, and as the safety practitioner becomes more of a general practitioner in the world of health, safety, and ESG it’s becoming more important to make these connections count.
We’ve established that we need to build, and maintain, our networks – but how do you do it? Well, there’s a theory based on human and face-to-face interaction which benefits the nurturing of our networks but is also the foundation for creative discovery and exploration – the Allen Curve.
The Allen Curve was developed after a study of communication between engineers and showed that communication frequency decreases with distance. This supports face-to-face networking because it fosters stronger relationships, promotes knowledge sharing, and enhances collaboration. This was most present in Building 20 at MIT which represented a great melting pot of innovation. The theory was proven when building 20 was replaced with state of the art facilities there was a notable drop off in the sharing of information and innovation due to the more restricted building layout.
While technology has revolutionised communication, the Allen Curve reminds us of the enduring value of face-to-face interactions. By fostering stronger relationships, facilitating knowledge sharing, and promoting collaboration, in-person networking remains a powerful tool for personal and professional success. This said, in the modern, fully inter-connected world I believe there is room for a blended network. Just as those face-to-face communications are essential for nurturing ideas and informal opportunities to learn, develop, grow or simply bounce an idea off another like-minded professional there is scope to reinforce your network with those who are not located within your geographic sphere.
The role of technology in building a fully interconnected network is something which everyone can benefit from leveraging and whilst this was once only achieved by talking to someone at the desk next to you, now that next desk might be halfway around the world but that knowledge and experience is no less real and valuable .
Another key finding of Allen’s research was that in any network there are information gate keepers. These individuals conveyed key concepts and ideas from the right people to just the right other people within the organisation or network. This concept highlights that when building your network there are two types of people you need to include.
Firstly, there are the specialists, the people you know are at the top of their game in their particular field whatever it be, and then there are the special creatures that are known by various terms depending on your background or experience (some call them unicorns, some call them muses) but whatever your term for them is, these are the people in the know. They might not know the answer to your question, but it’s a sure bet if they don’t then they know someone who will and in some ways these people are the most valuable contacts to keep.
Therefore the need to access timely, accurate, reliable and relevant information is paramount and can be the difference between a glowing success and getting something badly wrong.
Where can you start when you want to nurture your network from a seedling to a small plant and what can you do when branches of an older tree need pruning to allow others to grow?
There are many sources of good information, and nothing beats a personal introduction to know that you are on the right track. You can also use resources such as the registers of members from professional bodies, but a personal preference of mine is to attend events and shows such as Anticipate which is happening in December this year at the Excel in London where you will be able to network not only with suppliers and industry experts but also other like-minded professionals.
Remember the six degrees of separation and the value of building a robust network that can support you in developing and dealing with tricky situations and keep as accessing valuable information which can enable you to deliver on your desired outcomes, whether they be in the world of traditional health and safety or beyond.
