The Power of Weak Ties and How They Accelerate Your Career Growth
“…folks with a greater portion of weak ties have greater upward mobility and economic advancement,” said an acquaintance in response to a post about the value of building your network. I thought to myself: “What??” and immediately followed his link to a sociology study conducted by Mark Granovetter for Stanford University. I wanted to find out what ‘weak ties’ meant and how they accelerate your career growth.
Weak ties sound so … weak. Why in the world would ‘weak ties’ be important to elevate your career? Most importantly, what the heck are weak ties in the first place? To my surprise I discovered that:
- Weak ties are a reference to a broader, loose network
- Weak ties are not friends but can be considered allies
- Weak ties are people who are often second-degree connections
- Weak ties are lasting acquaintanceships that never become personally close
- Weak ties are more valuable to career advancement than strong ties
The best reference I found to the power of weak ties is in Sally Helgesen’s book: How Women Rise – when she discusses the incredible importance of enlisting allies from day one. She states: “Allies are the heart and soul of a successful career. Allies don’t have to be friends … Sociologists call these relationships ‘weak ties’ and note that people are far more likely to find jobs and be rewarded for their efforts as the result of weak ties than the kind of strong ties that characterize close friendships.”
Naturally, the very next action in my mind is to understand (1) why aren’t strong relationships more powerful for your career growth and (2) how to develop more ‘weak ties’ – or a broad network of allies.
The Friendship Gap
Based on my research and observations, from time to time there is what I call a ‘friendship gap’. I am referencing the gap between your strong tie and actually referring this person to someone as a great candidate for a new opportunity. While you may cherish, love, and nurture your friendships – you also know these people very well. Sometimes a little too well.
Quite often, the closer the relationship and the more you know about someone, the less credible they become. This is quite common in very close personal relationships – then you have arguments about how they close the potato chip bag. If you still aren’t sure about this, how likely it is that your spouse or children will take what a friend says more seriously than what you have to say about the same subject? It’s not that they don’t love you!
Unfortunately, the more you see the less rosy side of someone’s personality – the more likely it will cloud and occasionally overshadow their good points. We have a natural tendency to remember negative experiences much more vividly. As a result, a friends shortcomings might make you hesitate to put them forward for an opportunity. Almost everyone has thought of referring a friend and hesitated. The very next thought hard on the heels of this is: “How will this reflect on me?”
There is a flip side to the friendship gap too. What if you know of an opportunity in your company that your friend would really want to have – but you know too much about the job and you don’t want to see your friend suffer. I’ve had that happen to me and I didn’t recommend my friend because I was trying to protect them. The same holds true if you don’t know enough about the job. For some, that’s a reason not to connect a friend just in case it doesn’t work out and they blame you.
Thanks to your desire to protect your reputation or your friend: you don’t put them forward. That is the friendship gap. You know too much. You are too close Also, keep in mind that this gap doesn’t apply to everyone. It’s equally likely that you will recommend any number of your friends!
The stronger your tie with someone, the more complex it becomes. This little psychological quirk is prevalent enough to elevate the importance of weak ties and developing a broader network.
Why Weak Ties Matter
Weak ties are those people who know enough about you to be considered an acquaintance. These aren’t usually people you invite around to dinner but you see them at events, catch up at a mutual friend’s party, or work in a different department at the same company. Your weak ties are essential in the fact that these same individuals can become allies.
The reason that your broader network is so critical is fairly simple: they don’t know enough about you to disqualify you. Does that sound horrible? Think of it like this: let’s say you have a good friend who is an amazing accountant. You also know that this person is well-meaning but struggles to keep their life on track. Maybe they let you down from time to time. Does that mean they are a bad accountant? No. They are probably a good person too (or you wouldn’t be friends) but your brain reminds you of all their ‘gaps’ when you consider recommending them for an opportunity.
The friendship gap is not an issue for second-degree connections and acquaintances. Chances are, as long as the person has a good reputation, you will recommend them. You are removed far enough to protect your reputation and your feelings don’t get in the way. It’s quite common to feel safer about connecting acquaintances than some closer friendships.
I mean, what if it doesn’t turn out for your good friend and they get mad at you? You don’t want to damage your friendship! When it comes to weak ties, it’s not that complicated and reputations drive connections. When you consider this, I hope it drives home the importance of developing a good reputation.
Your behavior, mindset, and how you communicate is critical to your credibility. This is combined with your expertise and ability to deliver. Your reputation will empower or disable your ability to leverage your ties of any type – strong or weak. If you have a reputation of being a great person who’s good at what they do, your reputation will proceed you and increase your chances of being connected to opportunities.
Developing a Strong Network of Weak Ties
If you feel like a jerk because you haven’t recommended a friend in the past and the friendship gap hit a little too close to home – don’t despair. It doesn’t mean that you don’t care about your friends and close relationships. It’s also not to say that you hesitate to recommend your friends – that is also not true. Lots of people recommend friends: I have, we all do. I will also point out that you are able to have a MUCH LARGER amount of weak ties than close friendships.
Developing strong ties takes a lot of effort. I know some people that only have one or two close friends – but hundreds of acquaintances. Based on what we know about career advancement: this is a position of strength. How do you develop your weak ties and expand your network? By getting to know people, of course!
Those individuals that get out there, introduce themselves, connect, show up and demonstrate an interest in others are more likely to have a strong network of acquaintances. This is one reason why the myth that extraverts are more successful than introverts actually exists. Extraverts gravitate towards social gatherings, community events, and just about any place with lots of people.
Introverts, on the other hand, would rather stay home in peace and quiet. This is not to say that a more reserved person cannot develop a strong network and it’s a great idea to be strategic about it. While having a solid and well-rounded network is best: if the thought of putting yourself ‘out there’ makes your head hurt, think quality over quantity.
Consider organizations, events, and activities where you are likely to meet either like-minded driven professionals in your target industry or meet those who also enjoy a strong network. Specific professional focus groups (such as leadership groups), volunteering, organizational and community events are essential here. Be strategically active in your professional organizations.
Don’t just show up to a meeting or two to collect cards. Developing ideal weak ties isn’t a card-collecting contest! It’s not a great idea to be very ‘agenda-driven’ either. Those who zero in on only those people who have the most status (and won’t give anyone else the time of day) are annoying. Plus, they are burning bridges without even realizing it. You never know who will be your strongest ally and who knows who!
Leveraging Your Weak Ties
Even if you have a large number of weak ties: that doesn’t always mean you can leverage them. The key to shifting your acquaintances into allies are the following:
- You reach out to others first instead of waiting for people to come to you.
- You go out of your way to connect people and become a bridge.
- You put energy into building and maintaining your credibility – with everyone.
- You develop your expertise to inspire trust and fuel recommendations.
- You give freely (and respect your boundaries), show gratitude, give praise and share kindness.
The last point also connects strongly with building and maintaining your credibility. Credibility also often confused with status or expertise, so it’s important to point out the obvious. Your credibility is basically your ability to inspire trust in others. Credibility is the career currency. It has less to do with how much you know and more to do with your interpersonal skills. Regardless, when it comes to building allies out of acquaintances – developing your expertise is also important. It takes both – not one or the other.
The people I have observed that have the most robust network of allies are those who are intentional about adding value to others. They are bridges, not a dead end. They want to connect others. It’s important to them that people become successful too. Basically, they pay it forward. There is a universal law that you get back what energy you put into the world.
It is also important to note that those who are also able to leverage their network see the most return on investment. If the term leverage is repugnant to you, this will create roadblocks in your career growth. People may resist the idea of leveraging their network and that’s often because they do not quite know how to leverage relationships. Here are a few pointers:
- A leveraged relationship is always mutually beneficial.
- A leveraged relationship is often intentional and has little do with being best buddies.
- A leveraged relationship has a specific purpose in mind.
- A leveraged relationship can be tactical and doesn’t always net immediate rewards, but has potential for future development.
Accelerate Your Career Growth
A good acquaintance of mine, we’ll call him Dan, reached out to me to assist him in developing just the right message to send to his broader network. These are people whom he has weak ties, know him, know about his work, and most importantly – see Dan as a credible professional. The reason for this strategically intentional communication is to leverage his allies to help him open doors to new opportunities.
This is a perfect example of why weak ties are important and how to leverage them. Would Dan return the favor for any assistance? Absolutely – without a doubt, that’s the point. Those that rise to the top the fastest are those who enlist the support of their allies – their ‘weak’ ties. By now, you probably see there is nothing weak about the power of weak ties and how they accelerate your career growth.
It’s important to note that you shouldn’t rule out strong ties. The fact is, there are fewer strong ties (because they take more energy) and they tend to come packaged with an additional layer of complexity. When it comes to expanding your network – from time to time: ignorance is bliss.
The next time you are tempted to say at home in your comfy clothes instead of going to the networking event, think twice. Are you missing out on an opportunity to refresh your network connections and meet someone new? There isn’t an event I go to that I don’t connect with a new person! Be intentional about developing your acquaintances, enlist them as allies, fuel your career and theirs too!
Remove career roadblocks and achieve your potential
About me – My name is Erin Urban (LSSBB, CPDC), I’m a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, a keynote speaker, certified career growth and an executive leadership development coach with almost a decade of mentoring and coaching successful professional transformations.
Want to elevate your career and not sure where to start? Let’s chat! Schedule a consultation call HERE.
