In his 2000 debut The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, author Malcolm Gladwell identifies three very special types of people who make the world of business networks go round.
Take our quiz to understand which you are most like, or on your way to being, so that you can play to your natural strengths as you build your networks, knowing what it is you bring to the room.
After every answer you’ll find an initial – keep a tally as you go.
1. Your women’s network is throwing its largest gathering to date. You’re most excited about…
- Getting to know diverse people from departments you’ve never come into contact with before (c)
- Finding out what projects are going on in disparate parts of the business (m)
- Getting as many people on board as you can with a new initiative you want to launch (p)
2. You’re getting stuck into writing a report when you realise you’re missing some crucial industry data. Your solution is to…
- Enlist the help of someone in your vicinity – you’ll have no problems returning the favour if they ever need anything in exchange (p)
- Call up that former colleague you’ve kept in touch with – they’ll almost certainly have all the answers or be able to point you to someone who will (c)
- Trawl through the Internet, books, blogs and social networks to generate as much information as you can to plug the gap (m)
3. You’re planning an away day for your team. Which of the following are you most likely to pay attention to?
- Getting the team to buy into the ideas you want to present, so that you can move forward as a group (p)
- Finding lots of material to stimulate ideas and discussion (m)
- Creating tasks and workshops in a way that gets the best out of each and every person (c)
4. When a LinkedIn connection requests you help, it’s more likely to be…
- To ask you to introduce them to someone they’d like to get to know (c)
- Offering their time or help with a project you’ve spoken to them about (p)
- To pick your brains about a problem they’re encountering at work (m)
5. Which piece of feedback are you most likely to hear following a presentation?
- You speak with such passion – you totally had me convinced (p)
- You speak with such authority – you really know your stuff (m)
- When you speak you really touch people – you understand your audience and their needs (c)
6. Someone on your team is really struggling with confidence issues. You think:
- I know just the training course they should go on, and there’s a great book I can lend them (m)
- I know someone who’d be a fantastic mentor for them (c)
- I can coach them myself – I’m sure I can convince them to take on some of the techniques that work for me (p)
7. At the heart of a good brainstorm is the principle of…
- Effective debate – it’s all about arguing your point convincingly (p)
- Empathy – it’s crucial you understand where the other person and their ideas are coming from (c)
- Quantity – just getting down as many ideas as possible, good and bad (m)
8. A networking event was a success if you managed to…
- Talk to as many people as possible, finding out about their lives and what makes them tick (c)
- Came away buzzing with ideas (m)
- You managed to convince others of the validity of your opinion or something that really matters to you (p)
9. When you’re reading your industry’s trade magazine, you’re mostly drawn to…
- A compelling theory or idea that you can really get behind (p)
- The detail behind some new way of doing things – the more data for you to pour over, the better (m)
- Profiles of key figures and how they’re making things happen (c)
10. Some time after meeting at a networking function, a connection emails you a few words of thanks for your help. You get the biggest buzz if they…
- Are grateful for a referral that won them a job or promotion (c)
- Admit they were inspired by something you said and have made life or career changes as a result (p)
- Are returning the favour with some interesting new insight – a report, publication or details of something they heard – that you can add to your knowledge bank (m)