Style: September 01, 2022

Building
your
Social
Capital
Every weekend, almost without
exception, I spend a portion of my
time planning for the week and
month ahead. Sometimes it’s a
fairly clinical exercise: confirming
appointments, researching different
market indicators, prepping for oneon-one
sessions and working on our
company’s goals and direction.
Sounds straightforward and it is, but at
other times it requires a much deeper
overview because when you’ve been
doing things for a very long time
it’s easy to keep doing them the
same way without question. I like
to counter this by venturing down
rabbit holes looking at new ways of
applying different creative processes
to the business.
There’s always so much to learn or
relearn and, being curious by nature,
I sometimes start with the simplest of
concepts.
Here’s one that began with a TED Talk
by Margaret Heffernan, a Professor of
Practice at the University of Bath School
of Management.
One of the presentation’s main focus
areas was Social Capital.
Social Capital is all about relationships.
It enables people to work together as a
team rather than as isolated individuals
chasing their own goals. It powers up
sports teams and companies alike. An
easy explanation given by Professor
Heffernan was: “it’s the mortar rather
than the bricks” in a relationship, team
or business. It holds us together, driving
greater empathy and connection.
Here’s where it becomes significant,
and it feels particularly important to
me as part of a leadership team. It’s
where ideas flow, loyalty grows and trust
strengthens. It can start with the simple
easy gestures: greeting everyone every
day, every time; shared food and events;
celebrating birthdays and successes;
business planning aimed at developing
skills and talents; as well as a ‘hand-up
not hand-out’ philosophy. There are
numerous ways of making the mortar
in your business stronger, but you must
focus on that growth.
It’s so easy to let these things slip. I have
memories of working in an environment
where the person in charge never, ever
greeted you unless you had upset the
status quo and that greeting was more
of a snarl followed by a note written
in red plastered up on the office wall.
It’s no surprise that the fractured team
struggled to find its best work.
A culture of helpfulness is another
powerful enabler and this plays a big
part in our business. It’s critical to how
we think of our people and our desire to
add value to the industry we’re part of.
So, as you work through your own
personal journey at home or at work, tap
into these ideas and actions. Teamwork
bests the actions of the individual,
especially if it’s aligned and values
based.
Do more to help the person beside you,
give of your time and yourself … who
knows where it could go?
And who knows what new rabbit holes
I’ll get to explore in the weeks and
months ahead?
Lynette McFadden
Harcourts gold Business Owner
027 432 0447
lynette.mcfadden@harcourtsgold.co.nz
Harcourts gold
Papanui
Harcourts Papanui
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