According to Malcolm Gladwell, your ‘weak ties‘ – people you see infrequently – are more beneficial for job seeking than ‘strong ties’ – close acquaintances. This principle also applies to securing board appointments. This article will explore who these ‘weak ties’ are and why they are so effective.
A classic job networking study
Malcolm points to sociologist Mark Granovetter (Stanford University), whose classic study “Getting a Job” found that:
- 56% got jobs through a personal connection
- But, only 17% got a job through a connection that they saw regularly or frequently
- Conversely, 55% were appointed via someone they saw occasionally
- 28% were appointed as a result of someone they saw rarely
To summarise, 83% of people who gained a job through a personal connection saw that person rarely or infrequently – weak ties. That was nearly three times more than those who found their job through an advertisement, a headhunter, or other formal means. In other words, success is mainly about who you know, not what you know.
Extrapolating these findings to board appointments, my research found that 65% of people were appointed to a board via a personal connection. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that ~ 50% of all board appointments occur through connections seen rarely or infrequently… or as such are yet to meet. This remarkable study should revolutionise your search for a board appointment.
What are Weak Ties, and why do they work?
Weak ties can be described as contacts and connectors. Contacts are people you see rarely or infrequently. Connectors are people you want to know (or know of) because they provide direct access to people or opportunities. Weak ties are compelling because these people come without preconceived notions of who you are or what you offer. They only know what you tell them; ideally via a compelling pitch. You must be able to articulate your value at board level and provide clarity on what it is you are looking for. It is all linked to something called the ‘Fundamental Attribution Error’.
The commonality between weak tie connections is that you don’t have an emotional relationship with them. Instead, you have a link that is perceived to be more about business rather than pleasure. These relationships are usually outside of your immediate sphere. Success comes from these weak ties, which are connected to people and opportunities outside your primary network. They are more likely to be on the lookout for ‘new blood’ and are less likely to overlook you for roles because they assume you already know about it.
Why aren’t strong ties as valuable?
Strong ties can be labelled as friendships or relationships. Friendships are people you likely know from and within a social setting. They may have originated from a work environment, but have now moved firmly into a social setting. In all cases, strong ties have personal relationships at their core. This means that each party is well known to the other. Relationships are similar to friendships, but are not friendships. They are often based on mutual respect, professionally driven, and will have begun in a professional setting. They may be a colleague or a professional stakeholder you work closely with.
At first glance, these relationships seem like a perfect recipe for getting ahead. However, in many cases, barriers exist in these relationships and friendships. These scenarios include:
- In the mind of a friend, you are likely to be unproven as a board director. They have not seen you perform in that sort of role. You ultimately pose a reputational risk if they recommend you as a NED.
- They think of you in some other context – the lawyer, accountant, friend, busy CEO, retiree, mum, dad, entrepreneur, etc., and not a NED. As such, they don’t even consider you when they hear of appointment opportunities.
- They know you too well – all your foibles. They remember when you messed up that account years ago, or what you are like after that 2nd drink.
- They like you, but might not rate you. They enjoy spending time with you – even love you – but don’t think you are that good at what you do. We all know these people, people we love and would do anything for… except recommend them for a job, let alone a board appointment, because you know them too well.
In summary
In certain situations, Strong Ties do count, but not as often as people think they do. This is good news because it is likely that you don’t have many of these sorts of connections anyway, and those you do have may not facilitate a board appointment directly. Having said that, you still need to know how to leverage them. Conversely, weak ties make your board search truly powerful. The good news here is that they are incredibly easy to develop. I will show you how to create and leverage both of these sorts of connections in forthcoming articles.
Our Board Appointment Training series outlines the exact process for obtaining a board appointment and provides the templates and support to do so. It also teaches you how to develop and leverage strong and weak ties. Access to it is included in our Executive Membership Package.
Related Articles
The 4 Ways Board Appointments are Made
Articulation – The most valuable thing you can do to gain a Board Appointment!
Understanding the Fundamental Attribution Error is fundamental
About the Author
David Schwarz is CEO & Founder of Board Direction – Australia’s leading board advertising and non-executive career support firm. He has over a decade of experience of putting people on boards as an international headhunter and a non-executive recruiter and has interviewed over one thousand non-executives and placed hundreds into some of the most significant public, private and NFP roles in the world
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