Who you know...or how you network?

A rather stark 'social networking' challenge caught my ear on Radio 4's Today programme as I was brushing my teeth one recent morning.

"Can the extent of our social networks and connections help us get better treatment and extend our lives should we get diagnosed with a terminal disease?"

Clearly the intent of this political question was to provoke debate as to whether privileged background or social 'class' presented any advantages/obstacles in getting access to effective NHS treatment - and assessing whether an independent advocacy service should be set up to help the less socially connected get access to the best consultants.

However, this got me thinking. While this is a rather extreme scenario (putting 'social networks' in a dramatic 'life and death' context), who you know - or how you network - can seriously influence your life chances, the debate suggests.

Without getting too political about the whys and wherefores of free universal healthcare provision, this does present an interesting perspective from which to view more mundane organisational challenges as we consider how our colleagues interact to identify and address underlying performance problems (serious illnesses…) or achieve other business goals (live longer/more happily…). What is it that provides the initiative, connections and follow-through to optimise individual and team performance? Is there a 'classless' society in terms of sharing knowledge and skills to achieve personal and business success in your organisation?

Reflecting on my home life, when faced with any family health problems, I've certainly taken the initiative to actively research and seek help above and beyond the immediately-available local health service provision. If you have any sort of family illness (and little is more important than the health of your immediate family), you will naturally use any and all avenues at your disposal - including personal connections, internet sites and discussion forums, local community groups and other communications media, as well as the 'formal' local health professionals - in order to get the very best expertise to diagnose and treat as comprehensively as possible. How do you and your colleagues do that effectively when faced with more regular day-to-day challenges at work?

Back at the office, what does this mean for those in L&D roles looking to support effective individual and organisational performance? How can you encourage people to take responsibility for improving their own work situation as well as providing efficient networking channels and appropriate content for their particular skill and knowledge gaps to address overall performance goals?

It strikes me that it comes down to three things:

The initiative - the organisational culture to encourage problem identification and constructive enquiry/resolution as well as the values to recognise and share the fruits of a 'healthy' organisation.

The network - the tools to get access to the right individuals, experience and knowledge to address questions and explore them to their fullest extent, and then to decide on the appropriate solutions. This can be static 'best practice' content or collaboration/discussion forums.

The application - appropriate skills transfer to embed and maintain the necessary expertise at the point of need through appropriate performance management and an effective ongoing support network.

It's interesting that in facing personal  challenges, 'learning to learn' in this way is often second nature to individuals - reaching out to friends and acquaintances, using the Internet and other content/collaboration tools for research and intelligently filtering information to apply the best advice to suit their particular circumstances. How so for your organisations? Could you have a role as an 'independent advocate' to help improve connections to enable universal productivity for all in your company?

Al Bird is learning consultancy director at KnowledgePool. He can be contacted at al.bird@knowledgepool.com