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» Altruismus ist heute ein großes Wort. Aber Profi-Netzwerker gehen gerne offen damit um. «
– Alexander Wolf
“ Altruism is a big word today. But professional networkers like to deal with it openly. „
– Alexander S. Wolf
25% of network professionals call themselves „donors“ because they expect (almost) nothing in return for favors and support. As many as 34% see themselves mainly (70%) as „donors“ and only occasionally (30%) as „takers“. The same number, 66% of our interviewed professionals have gotten into the habit of clearly communicating expectations to others in order to prevent false impressions and make relationships transparent from the outset. 35% of the study participants even regularly take stock of their relationships and check whether giving and taking are in a balanced relationship.
One may ask for favors without being afraid to scare off a contact with it: Only an astonishing 9% quickly draw consequences if a relationship is unbalanced, which proves a great tolerance of professional networkers. Relaxed generosity: It is reassuring to know that only 5% of those questioned prefer the strategy of not giving too much themselves in order not to be taken advantage of. 66% of our interviewed professionals have gotten into the habit of clearly communicating expectations to others in order to prevent false impressions and make relationships transparent from the outset. 35% of the study participants even regularly take stock of their relationships and check whether give and take are in balance.
Feeling good versus business: Almost half of all respondents do not want any direct economic benefit at all, but see altruistic behavior as beneficial for their own well-being in the group (14%), for the positive atmosphere (22%) and the good reputation of the network (13%).
Only a minority of 5% believes that altruistic behavior in networks can help participants reach their respective goals faster. A quarter of the respondents (25%) believe in direct benefits for all as a result of altruistic behavior of individuals in a group.
*Multiple answers possible
The vast majority (60%) of professionals only take stock in a relationship when a bad feeling arises (35%), something disturbs (9%) or the feeling of being taken advantage of (16%). Only 16% regularly check their relationships for balance and only a minimal 3%, or 1% actually balance according to a fixed schedule (after 1 year or 6 months). Interesting: Approximately every tenth (11%) checks the previous balance of give/take as soon as they themselves want something from the other. And almost nobody (1%) balances after the first given help. So in networks you can always ask others for a favor with a clear conscience.
Almost half of all professionals (46%) have already been used several times. However, almost the same number (43%) rarely feel exploited by others. This is astonishing inasmuch as the majority of those questioned still like to help others (see Table 1 of this survey). This suggests that it is largely a matter of feeling, not whether you are actually being exploited. Obviously, it always takes two to be exploited. Those who use the right strategies for themselves can be bountiful without feeling exploited.
Almost three quarters of the professionals surveyed recommend others only if they are convinced of the performance (52%) or quality (11%) of what they recommend. Approximately every third person (29 %) subsumes this under the statement:
„I’ll refer someone to you if I trust them.“ In summary this means: nice conversations and regular meetings are not enough to be recommended. Only good performance is the key.
When is it time to get out of a network? Why do networks have such a bad image? The answers to these and more questions can be found in our first survey:
Which values are important to you in relationships? How do you create a relationship of trust? In the second survey you will find all networker answers on the topic of trust and
The Dictyonomy Institute was founded by Alexander S. Wolf in 2009 to further develop sustainable networking.
The institute focuses on innovative methods to implement cross-sectoral collaboration, sustainable partnerships, team building SDG 17, community building & group connectivity.