Network Mapping: A Tool for Meaningful Connections

In today’s fast-paced, complex world, we’re all incredibly busy. We have more meetings and collaboration requests than ever before. So how can you protect your time and sanity while still achieving your goals, and still respecting your relationships?

Building authentic and productive relationships is critical in collaborative work. But too often, we go through the motions of our daily tasks without pausing to cultivate the connections that truly matter. It’s crucial to invest your efforts in the relationships that will help you achieve your individual and collective goals. As part of that, we need to recognise that some relationships require more focus than others.

That’s why we should approach working together strategically and intentionally.

One invaluable tool we can use is network mapping. I’m passionate about using network mapping to apply a relational lens to my work to help build healthy and productive relationships that lead to meaningful outcomes.

Recently, I had the opportunity to run a Strategic Relationship Building Workshop for our Node Managers and Extension Officers in the SQNNSW Drought Hub. They are incredibly busy people who genuinely care about what they do, working together with farmers, community groups, NRMs, governments and local residents to build drought preparedness and resilience.

In this workshop, I helped my colleagues map their networks, examining who was in their inner circle, who was on the periphery, and which relationships would facilitate alignment with and achievement of the collective objectives.

Each participant went on to develop their own relationship building action plan, outlining their priorities for building new relationships, boosting existing ones, and leveraging others within their network to reach new, important connections.

Over the next 12 months, our team will implement these plans. The goal is to build and nurture critical relationships that enable successful collaboration on drought preparedness and climate resilience efforts now and into the future.

If you want to get strategic about your own networks, here are some practical activities and questions to help:

1. Identify a goal: Think about a specific goal you or your team are trying to achieve by working together.
2. List your current connections: Make a list of everyone you currently engage with who is aligned with your goals.
3. Highlight key relationships: Circle the individuals on your list who are critical to achieving your goals.
4. Evaluate relationship strength: Assess whether your relationships are robust enough to support your objectives. If not, how can you strengthen them?
5. Expand your network: Determine if there are any individuals or organisations missing from your network who could help you achieve your goals. Plan strategies for connecting with them.

By following these steps, you’ll be strategic in your planning and ensure your actions align with your objectives and relationships. Remember, it’s not about having countless connections, but nurturing the right ones in an authentic way to propel us toward success.