How Important Is Social Capital, Anyway?

Social capital is not only part of our lives, it closely represents life itself. This may seem a bit extreme, but think back to the last time you accomplished a goal. Did you do it on your own or with the assistance of another individual? It is likely you had some help from a family member, friend or acquaintance. Following this logic, those individuals who have experienced some level of success (the achievement of their goals) likely have higher levels of social capital than those who have not.

Simply, social capital can be defined as the relationships an individual possesses. The key is to understand the importance of who we know, what we know about them and if we can link them to accomplishing something we set out to do.

Whether we are in school or working, the greatest opportunity for success in accomplishing our goals is the ability to tap into our network. Our network contains many different types of social resources (for example, our contacts, their addresses, their knowledge) that are capable of supporting our endeavors. The key is to understand and remember that these types of resources are all around us. We first need to gain access to them, then ultimately utilize them to attain our objective.

At the same time we access and utilize the social resources, we also have to give back to the network in order to access them again in the future. Building mutually beneficial relationships is key to long-term resource access. Just like a savings account, if we continue to withdraw money and do not replace it, eventually the account will be depleted. This holds true with social capital, too. Even though it exists in spite of us, our social resources will quickly dry up if we do not offer an exchange of our own resources in return. Becoming knowledgeable of what we have to offer and taking the time to explore opportunities with contacts on both sides is critical to ensuring a win-win scenario.

If we want to increase our utilization of social resources we must fully explore the opportunities that exist between what we want to accomplish and what our contacts have to offer. The connection between goals and resources is the best way to determine what resources exist in the network and which ones are best suited for accomplishing our objectives.

Social capital exists regardless of who we are and what we need. The value of this capital can only be determined by its utilization; whether we are leveraging our relationships for emotional, financial or goal support, we subconsciously tap into it. Imagine if we were to make a conscious effort to leverage our social capital in our lives, while at the same time providing our own resources to others in the network. Think about the difference this would make!

Some people are able to do this quite effectively, but most of us think little about it and therefore fail to tap into this valuable life resource. Perhaps we feel that it is a burden on someone to ask for help, or perhaps we do not wish to give anything in return. Whatever the reason, it is essential to success to think about what we hope to do and how the people in our lives can help us.

So is social capital important?

It is not only important, it is essential to our success. Whether you are looking for a job, vying for a promotion at work, buying a house, selling a car, or fixing a broken toilet, access to social resources will allow us to accomplish these tasks in a more efficient and effective manner. This is not to say that you cannot accomplish these tasks alone, but at what cost? Social capital leads to economic and human capital that is at the forefront of all our minds. We increase our annual earnings by accessing a contact who knows someone at an organization that pays above the typical salary offered elsewhere. Without the link between your contact and the organization, this opportunity would not be possible.

The next time you attempt to accomplish something think about the best way to do it. You must weigh your options to go it alone or locate someone who can help you. If you believe the research stating that those individuals with higher levels of social capital are more likely to accomplish their objectives, finding a contact that can help you is likely your best chance for success.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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