How well do you network with others? How well do those around you in the workplace network? Research indicates there are many advantages to building a strong social network. These include increasing the odds for desired individual outcomes such as promotions or job opportunities. Networks also can help you solve problems or find ways to innovate. As I have stated elsewhere, networkng should be part of every leader's DNA.
 
Regardless of whether you are a leader, you need to network. My experience is there are large individual differences when it comes to networking. Some people network easily and find making new contacts enjoyable. Others just are not comfortable approaching others and engaging in the social interaction that builds networks.
 
Marc Anderson (Iowa State University) and Peter Sun (University of Waikato) suggested another factor might affect the likelihood of a person networking. In a recent Leadership Quarterly article they suggested that a leader’s style might influence the degree to which subordinates network. If a leader has a well-developed network (more common to highly transformational leaders), then followers need not develop their personal networks as much. They could “free-ride on their transformational leaders’ social network” (p. 792). On the other hand, the followers of leaders who are seen as less transformational (less inspirational, motivational, and with smaller networks) would be more likely to develop their own networks.
 
In a study of leaders (from an executive education courses at a university in New Zealand) and their followers, this is what Anderson and Sun found. All followers networked more when encouraged to do so by their leaders. But the less transformational a leader was perceived, the more likely the followers would “engage in greater networking behavior.” The more transformational the leader, the less followers networked. Anderson and Sun suggested this reduced desire to network among followers may be one disadvantage of highly transformational leaders. It could also be disadvantageous to the individual followers and to the development of social capital in the organization.
 
My take-aways:
 
1.  I would expect that leaders who are highly transformational (considerate, motivating, influential, mentally stimulating) would develop healthy networks and these networks could benefit their followers. Given great contacts through my supervisor, why would I need to work hard to develop contacts on my own? Because you may not always be able to count on your leader or her network being there. Use your leader’s network but work hard to build your own. 
 
2.  Leaders at all levels should encourage their followers to build their social networks. Networks of relationships help individuals and can impact organizational effectiveness. Referring to these networks as social capital makes sense because networks represent potential resources. While building social networks, do not overlook social media networking. Getting to know others in cyberspace can be personally and professionally rewarding.
 
3.  The best leaders grow and develop their followers. This should include leaders using their networks to make opportunities and resources available from their followers.

​4.  Regardless of your position, make an inventory of your social networks. Networks can figure prominently in your professional success.
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Anderson, M. H., & Sun, P. Y. T.  (2015). The downside of transformational leadership when encouraging followers to network. The Leadership Quarterly, 26, 790-801.
 
Image, “Social Network” by Z. Athanasios. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Social_Network.png
Used with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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© John Ballard, PhD,  2015. All rights reserved.
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Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations
Now available at leading on-line bookstores such as Amazon.com

Sometimes dysfunctional stress can creep over us, sometimes with devastating consequences. A recent article in the New York Times talked about the stresses of working on Wall Street and the apparent suicide of one young man. As the New York Times noted, "there is no evidence that the incidence of suicide by young professionals on Wall Street is higher than in any other industry." I was troubled by this story. Over my career I have heard similar. In Decoding the Workplace I tell the following:
  
        Judd Turner ate, lived, and breathed his job. A midlevel marketing analyst in his early 40s, he threw himself into every undertaking. He was pleased when Wallace, the Senior VP for Marketing, selected him to develop the marketing plan for a new product that was anticipated to be the company’s profit leader within three years. The challenges were enormous; the expectations for success were high. He knew this project would make or break his career.
        For four months Turner worked on the project nearly every minute he was awake. He went to bed thinking about the plan and woke up with it on his mind. Except for sleep, his effort was 24/7. His wife, Gina, had never seen him work this much or this hard. Slowly his behavior changed. He grew emotionally distant.  Bottles of scotch disappeared more quickly. Gina thought, “I will be so thankful when this is over and I can have my husband back.” But this was not to be.
         Turner kept the Senior VP for Marketing in the loop as the plan developed. The Senior VP had nothing but praise for Turner’s work. Finally he told Turner, “This is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I think we’re ready to take this to the CEO. Great work, Judd.”
          The meeting with the CEO and senior staff was arranged. Turner presented the plan. But the meeting did not go as anticipated. From the start it was clear the CEO did not understand how the plan would achieve the marketing goals. Turner did his best but the CEO just didn’t get it. Turner kept waiting for the Senior VP for Marketing to jump in and help him out. He knew Wallace understood the plan and thought it was great.
           Finally the CEO, exasperated, said, “OK, that’s enough. I don’t see anything here worth pursuing. This plan just stinks. What do you think, Wallace?”  Without hesitating, the Senior VP for Marketing replied, “Yes, sir. Pretty smelly. I should have given Turner more guidance. We’ll regroup and get someone else on it immediately.”
          Shock. Absolute shock. Turner could barely breathe. His superior had not supported him. He had in fact betrayed him. As Turner walked back to his office, replaying the past few minutes in his mind, he felt the air being squeezed out of him. Months of giving everything to the company. Years of dedicated service. It was over. It was all over. Pain, emptiness, failure. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. Turner opened the window in his office on the 23rd floor -- and stepped through it into eternity.
           News of Turner’s suicide stunned the organization. Those who knew him were incredulous. Turner was so level-headed, such a normal guy. What could have happened? The signs were there. The lack of sleep. The abuse of alcohol. The emotional detachment. Turner was in the most stressful work of his life – and it got to him. He didn’t manage the stress. He was stressed out long before the fateful meeting with the CEO. But when his superior did not back him -- but instead left him standing all alone -- the thread that held Turner to reality snapped. A darkness deep and vast came over him and took him away.

           Over a career you will work with co-workers with a variety of stress-related ailments from backaches, to hypertension, to headaches, to depression. Sometimes you will know about these ailments but other times you will not. Work-related stress may play out in our private lives, such as through drug abuse, legal or illegal. You may develop stress-related problems yourself. Some people die from stress-related coronary diseases. The Japanese have a word for death from work, karoshi.
          As leaders we should be sensitive as possible to the stressors affecting our followers. Where possible, we should reduce workplace norms or change behaviors that are dysfunctional. We should create a caring, supportive culture where people are truly valued. A little stress is OK; but too much stress is a problem. 
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© John Ballard, PhD,  2015. All rights reserved.
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Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations
Now available at leading on-line bookstores such as Amazon.com