How can we build meaningful connections in remote work environments?

We’ve all heard the saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” and when it comes to your career this has never been truer.

According to HubSpot, 85% of jobs are filled through networking and according to CNBC, 70% of jobs are never published publicly. Herminia Ibarra, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School describes networking as “a lot like nutrition and fitness: we know what to do, the hard part is making it a top priority.”

In his book, “The Career Manifesto”, Mike Steib, a CEO, Fortune 500 board-director and author speaks about the importance of ‘meaningful networks’ which he describes as “the people you personally care about, who in turn care about you”. This goes beyond our traditional view of what ‘networking’ is and isn’t, but it also begs the question, how do we do it?

It’s clear from the endless data and research from thought leaders globally that our networks are critical to enabling us to thrive both personally and professionally.

So why are many of us so reluctant to ‘put ourselves out there’ and grow our networks?

Steib argues many of us see it as ‘gross’ and self-fulfilling but that’s not what meaningful networks are about. Steib says “your success at building a network is founded on one very important mindset: that you’re doing it based on your desire to know, appreciate, and help other people.”

Today we are living in a very different world of social and corporate connection. The lines between the two have been blurred throughout the course of the pandemic with, for the most part, connection occurring in the same place, our devices. Families, friends, colleagues and leaders all found themselves with only one real way of communicating with their ‘meaningful networks’ and that was through their screens. As we have emerged out the other side of what Microsoft describe as the “biggest shift to how we work in our generation” it is not just how, where and when we work that has changed but so too has the way we network, collaborate, and live our daily lives.

The blurred lines between personal and professional connection are, in my opinion, a leap forward in truly enabling people to bring their whole selves not only to work but to every aspect of their lives. While social networking sites like LinkedIn offer a place to connect and grow your professional network and Facebook provides a place to connect socially it can be confusing to know where to start with growing ‘meaningful connections’ particularly when working in a hybrid or remote-first environment. Finding your ‘Work Wife/Husband’ or starting an office romance is a little trickier over Zoom, Teams and Slack.

As we continue to navigate the great experiment of modern work, we must also explore what it means for building and growing meaningful connections and networks that enable us to thrive in every aspect of our lives.