Some people in your network will only help you if they can gain from the transaction.
A 2019 Gallup study revealed that only 15 percent of the workforce feels engaged in the workplace…and that was before the pandemic. That’s a massive problem, as engagement leads to higher productivity, innovation, and retention, not just joy and well-being. What about the other two-thirds of people in the workforce? Well, they are disengaged. Worse yet, 16 percent are actively disengaged, meaning, they are so miserable that they destroy what the engaged people built. They are spreading their unhappiness around like a contagious disease.
The Covid-19 pandemic was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Employees, fed up, decided they were announcing their frustration with their feet. They quit in record numbers. The Great Resignation was born.
Now, more than ever, is the time to switch from talk to action. Every organizational leader needs to say, in the famous words of President Harry Truman, “The buck stops here.”
People who felt they were on the fringes at work, never fully being invited to the ‘cool kids table,’ are becoming each other’s support system. Most diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs focus on why it is essential to have a diverse workforce. That is not new or revolutionary. We all know that research repeatedly shows that a diverse workforce leads to great innovation and an improved bottom line. What is missing from the conversation is how. It moves the challenge from bias to action, from what we think to what we do.
In her latest book, Rising Together, Sally Helgesen, the world’s global authority on women’s leadership, argues that our behaviors can help solve this pervasive problem. “Behaviors determine culture because culture lives in the details of how we do things,” shares Helgesen. Her latest masterpiece focuses on behaviors that can transform daily interactions and lead to impactful and sustainable change. Helgesen identified eight common triggers that undermine our ability to connect across divides. She offers practical and effective ways to address these triggers so that we no longer need to feel like we are on the fringes looking in.
The grapevine and the network
The grapevine versus network is a perfect example. The grapevine, as Helgesen describes, is an “informal system for sharing and amplifying information, facts, warnings, stories, and gossip.” They flourish in hierarchical systems where they feel leadership cannot be trusted. Generally, those who lack power drive communication in the grapevine. With the advent of social media, the grapevine exploded as rumors and misinformation were circulating throughout the globe.
Helgesen explained that the grapevine often takes root when weak or ego-centered leaders withhold information, which causes a void that needs filling, sadly with gossiping and whining.
Grapevines are a classic sign of dysfunction. They become echo chambers that provide confirmation bias of our assumptions and beliefs without anyone seeking the truth.
The sensationalism of the grapevine makes us feel powerful, as if we are ‘in the know’ and have access to critical information. Yet, it is generally useless information and yields no power. It’s all talk and no action.
The network, on the other hand, is the opposite of a grapevine. It operates with the understanding that the information is of value to everyone. A healthy network “sponsors others, shares resources, ideas, solutions and makes connections.”
In the book, Helgesen quotes executive coach Bill Carrier, who outlines three roles of a network - Contributor, Neutral, and Threat.
The Contributor is always searching for opportunities for others, actively making recommendations, and providing and sharing resources and contacts.
Neutrals are part of a network because people like them or want to associate with their status. They are not proactive in reaching out and may be unavailable when approached.
Threats view the network as a tool for self-gain. Every contribution becomes a ‘what’s in it for me’ internal dialogue. These people are dangerous as they may gossip and share insider information, weakening trust in the group.
Having a network you are a part of as an equal giver and receiver is critical. No longer do these networks needs to be reserved for golf games and cigar rooms. Employee Resource Groups (ERG) rose, intending to expand access and resources to those who may have been previously isolated or excluded.
Sally Helgesen did it again. Rising Together becomes a playbook for turning the challenge of bias into proactive action, one courageous move at a time.
