What is the Personal Network Map

The Personal Network Map shows how you are connected to other people through interactions. These types of interactions are included:

• Someone has replied or reacted to a message you have posted. This person could also have @ mentioned you in the message, or have notified you when posting.
• You have replied or reacted to someone's message. You could also have @ mentioned the person or notified the person when posting.

There are lines drawn between you (typically at the center of the map) and then the people you have interacted with. If the line is broken (like this - - - - ) then it is a one-way relationship. If it is a normal line it is a two-way relationship. In two-way relationships you have interacted with someone and they have also interacted with you.

The frames around the people are by default coloured by the business unit that they belong to. Click on the '+' sign in the top right of the map to see the legend.

The map provides a visual representation of your network of connections. You can quickly see the people you are most closely connected to and who in turn they are connected to. You can see clusters of connections or cliques that might exist in your network. You can also quickly see how diverse your network is, by observing the different business units they come from, or how some connection may only have you as a connection into your network.

How to use the Personal Network Map

It has been claimed that the social network is how work really gets done in organisations; and that hierarchies are really there for apportioning blame! Whether you believe this or not, you need only to
reflect on teams that you have been part of that have been highly productive and successful. Then there are others that you would rather forget, because of the in-fighting and lack of trust that led to frustration and unproductiveness.

The network map will reinforce a view of the people you work with mostly. But what about those you are connected with that are distant from others you work with? Perhaps you could make a point of brokering a connection? Being a connector can be the most productive networking activity you can undertake. As author and business guru Seth Godin writes, why not make yourself that indispensable lynchpin?

Connect and discuss

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