The Reliants Project

Thanks for joining this experiment! In between The Reliants Project regular podcast seasons, we're going to start launching mini-series. This will allow us to explore specific topics in more depth, in collaboration with an expert from that space. For the next several episodes, I've joined forces with Georgie Nightingall from Trigger Conversations. Together, we will focus on a key ingredient to cultivating networks: conversations.

In this episode we talk about:

• How conversations are critical to cultivating our networks
• Some of the things that hold us back from being more intentional in conversation
• What types of conversations we'll explore together in each episode of the mini-series
• How we'll structure the episodes to provide useful habits and tips you can use immediately
• Some homework to get you started!

During the second season of The Reliants Project podcast, we explored networks through the eyes of innovators and practitioners. They are using their intuition and experience in networks to build products and services. They are creating the tools and technologies to help us meet people, as well as helping us nurture relationships and cultivate our networks.

In this episode I talk about:

• Recurring themes throughout the season
• The value that people derive from products and services that help them engage with a network
• The considerations or trade-offs that innovators often face in supporting these interactions
• The key components or characteristics that these products and services incorporate in order to help drive outcomes

Bilyana is the co-founder and CEO of Orbiit. Their service matches people within a network for 1-to-1 conversations on a specific topic. They help community managers systematically activate their communities through these types of conversations. The companies that use their service appreciate the value of increasing the interconnectivity within a network.

In this episode we talk about:

• How our inboxes are flooded with 'one directional' content invitations
• How community managers spend a lot of time curating content, but not connecting members to each other
• Some of the unhelpful presumptions that community managers make about their members
• What we think of in person vs virtual interactions and where zoom fatigue creeps in
• How important context is to the quality of a conversation
• Whether you should chaperone the first meeting for any introductions you make

Lynn is the founder and CEO of Pivt. Their service helps improve the well being of relocated employees and their families. They support people through the whole relocation process, from considering a new opportunity, planning the move, to aclimating to the new city, all grounded in the power of networks and social support. In this episode we talk about:

• What activities help grow your network after relocating
• The cost and churn that companies incur trying to move employees
• The various stakeholders that are a part of the process
• How COVID has changed the market of relocations
• Some shocking survey results conducted during lockdown

Connor Murphy has spent most of his career building both digital and institutional networks. At Datahug, Connor built what was described as 'LinkedIn on Steroids' for large enterprises like KPMG and Deloitte. With Bridge, he is building a tool to serve people he calls 'connectors' which allows them to help their network succeed, initially by helping them make better introductions.

In this episode we talk about:

• Cultural differences around how people connect
• How the future of work will make our personal networks more important
• How LinkedIn isn't really a network
• What characteristics 'connectors' share and the magical moment of the introduction
• Common pitfalls we experience during the introduction process
• How introductions build social capital
• That sometimes connectors feel uncomfortable asking for help

Zahra is the founder and CEO of Enrol Yourself. They organise Learning Marathons, which are 6 month peer-led learning programmes for adults. They also run year long training programs for peer-based learning facilitation. She is passionate about lifelong learning and the power of peer groups to support it. In this episode:

• She shares how people use learning marathons to support big transitions like changing careers or starting new businesses
• How people in the program benefit from their peers and the wider network helping them reach their goals
• We also talk about how networks can support or undermine an individual's personal growth
• She explains how this type of learning environment helps people try on a new identity
• We discuss what she's learned about peer-based education through this experience

Stephen is the co-founder and CEO of Hi Right Now. They run virtual speed chat events for communities to help their members connect with each other. They only started a few months ago and have already connected 1,000s of people around the world. In this episode we talk about:

-How his upbringing opened his eyes to the importance of networks -How COVID has impacted our ability to engage with those networks and meet new people -Why it's attractive to people experiencing some form of transition -What the Hi right now experience is like and what makes it more accessible and inclusive -The difference between being an extrovert and being able to connect meaningfully with someone else -The impact that certain connections have had on his own life

Dr. Amar Dhand is a Neurologist and Social Scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Currently, his work focuses on social networks and how they impact health outcomes. He is interested in creating a social network paradigm for clinical medicine.

In this episode we:

• We talk about how he came to appreciate the role that networks play in our physical health
• How those networks tangibly affect his patients
• Ways in which networks impact how quickly people get treatment for medical emergencies like heart attacks and strokes
• How a patient's network influences their ability to recover from these experiences
• He also shares a little preview of his latest work with professional athletes, how their networks differ from non-athletes, and what that might mean for their health

In the first season, we explored how networks shape your wellbeing, relationships and community through the eyes of academics and researchers in the field of network science. We also learned some foundational principles of networks and how they shape us and the world around us.

In season 2, we'll turn our focus to practicioners and innovators. They are using their intuition and experience in networks to build products, services and even communities. They are creating the tools and technologies to help us meet people, nuture relationships and cultivate our networks.

Many people go through life with a set of unconscious beliefs and biases about networks and relationships that don't drive the outcomes they really want. These unconscious beliefs drive behaviours that have a huge impact on our wellbeing, relationships and community.

In this episode, I wrap up Season 1 of The Reliants Project Podcast and examine ten unhelpful assumptions about relationships that I've come across in my own research and experience. Then I provide an alternative perspective for each which will help you live a more successful, connected and fulfilled life.