Does networking make you feel dirty?

By Penny Pryor
Joys of Networking

A study released earlier this year by the Harvard Business School has confirmed what many people have thought for ages. Networking for professional purposes, or what the study refers to as 'instrumental networking' doesn't always make us feel entirely 'clean'.

The Contaminating Effects of Building Instrumental Ties: How Networking Can Make Us Feel Dirty a joint paper by the academics Tiziana Casciaro from the University of Toronto, Francesca Gino from Harvard Business School and Maryam Kouchaki Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, poses that because networking can make us feel dirty it impinges on our moral purity, or what we perceive to be our moral purity. The problem with that is we end up not doing it as often as we should, and our work performance suffers.

"As a modern man I have little contact with my neighbours. So my community is the industry." Greg Bright, Investor Strategy News

While the research does survey the real life experiences of a large American law firm - with responses from 165 lawyers from a total staff of 406 - the reality in the financial services industry in Australia may be slightly different.

At this week's SuperRatings and Lonsec's Day of Confrontation conference, delegates reported fairly positive experiences with networking in general.

Networking


(Pictured: middle - Kate McCallum, clockwise from top left - Penny Pryor, Bryan Gray, Ian Knox, Phillipa Honner, Sam Sicilia, Greg Bright & Tim Samway.)

Perhaps that's due to the nature of the industry, which does tend to breed stayers. The places they work may be different, but the faces that appear regularly at conferences are fairly familiar, so for many it's about catching up with friends and acquaintances.

"As a modern man I have little contact with my neighbours. So my community is the industry," Greg Bright, a publisher with a long history in superannuation, most recently as the founder and editor of Investor Strategy News, says.

"I am blessed with many friends in the industry so I have a good time [when I'm networking]. You pick up ideas for business but it's always in an informal setting."

"I think the key thing is being very clear on what having a network is, versus networking." Kate McCallum, Multiforte Financial Services

Kate McCallum, founder and adviser with Multiforte Financial Services and recently-announced winner of this year's AFA Female Excellence in Advice award, says that she likes building relationships, but doesn't necessarily like going to specific 'networking' events.

"I think the key thing is being very clear on what having a network is, versus networking," she says.

"So I believe having a very good network is exceptionally important for business."

For her it's not necessarily about business relationships but more about listening to different points of view from people with a variety of experiences.

And when you do things for people in your network, you shouldn't do it because you expect something in return.

"I think the starting point is you just do it because it's the right thing to do," she says.

"It's like Karma, it just comes back your way."

"It's a lot easier to call someone when you've met at an event like this." Bryan Gray, J.P. Morgan

Bryan Gray, a managing director at J.P. Morgan also enjoys it.

"This industry is about building relationships," he said at the Day of Confrontation.

"It's a lot easier to call someone when you've met at an event like this."

Ian Knox, founder of Paragem and former head of Sealcorp Holdings, says it's an essential part of every day life in business.

"I think anyone who runs a small business or anyone who shares information has to be seen to be heard," he says.

"I think most people know that it's a long-term relationship based industry...I'm a great believer in the favour bank." Phillipa Honner, Honner Media

Phillipa Honner, founder of communications consultancy Honner Media, agrees.

"I think the difference is how people choose to go about it," she says.

It needs to be a give and take relationship with the understanding that you do things without always expecting an immediate payback.

"I think most people know that it's a long-term relationship based industry...I'm a great believer in the favour bank," Honner says.

Sam Sicilia, chief investment officer of HostPlus, vox-popped while talking to Tim Samway, managing director of Hyperion Asset Management, at the Day of Confrontation, says that it's a great way to sort out the managers who are trustworthy and good to do business with.

"It actually takes time to build up that trust," Samway says.

So perhaps the issue might not be with the practice, but rather with the specific label of 'networking'.

"There is a kind of cynicism associated with networking," Knox says

"'Networking' sounds insincere."

But it's a necessary part of doing business and people that do it well, have created a way to do it they feel comfortable with that is usually all about reciprocation. In financial services at least, nobody seems too worried about their 'moral purity'.

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