BUSS5080 · Succeeding In The Accounting Profession
Developing Relationships & Networks
This week reframes networking as something rigorous and learnable: relationships are built by the exchange of resources — information, contacts, help and recognition — and the people who both ask often and give often become the most productive and best-regarded in a firm. You meet the request-by-contribute 2x2 (be a Value Creator), Adam Grant's giver / taker / matcher reciprocity styles and the idea that only otherish (boundaried) givers rise, the notion of giving from your comparative advantage, and generalised reciprocity. It closes with two network frameworks the exam loves: Cross & Prusak's informal-network roles (the central connector) and Ibarra & Hunter's three network types — operational, personal and strategic.
What this chapter covers
- 011. Relationships as exchange — value is created when you both request and contribute; map yourself on the request x contribute 2x2
- 022. The four exchange types — Value Creator (ask & give), Altruist (give only), Taker (ask only), Isolate (neither); the goal is the Value-Creator cell
- 033. Giver / taker / matcher — Grant's three reciprocity styles, and why matchers are the common default
- 044. Otherish giving — givers sit at BOTH ends of the success curve; the boundaried, strategic giver rises while the selfless one burns out
- 055. Comparative advantage — give what is hard for others to get but easy for you (often information and contacts); it is relative, not absolute
- 066. Generalised reciprocity — give now trusting indirect, delayed return; needs trust and stable membership, not pure altruism
- 077. Informal social networks — Cross & Prusak roles: central connector, boundary spanner, information broker, peripheral specialist
- 088. The three networks — Ibarra & Hunter's operational, personal and strategic; leaders over-invest in operational and neglect strategic
Applied short-answer — advise a newly-promoted professional on building the right network
- +2Central connectors (Cross & Prusak). Explain that the real work runs through the informal network, not the org chart. Sam should identify the central connectors on the team and key clients and build ties with them — while being careful, as the new manager, not to make themselves the single bottleneck that everything routes through.
- +2Operational network (Ibarra & Hunter). Name Sam's current contacts as the operational network — the ties needed to get today's job done. It is necessary but insufficient for the step up, and staying only here is the classic career trap.
- +2Personal and strategic networks (Ibarra & Hunter). Advise Sam to deliberately build a personal network (mentors and peers, often outside the firm, for development and referrals) and, crucially for the leadership track, a strategic network — lateral and senior ties that give foresight about priorities and the stakeholder support a manager needs. That directly answers 'why bother?': the strategic network is what the new role runs on.
- +0Bonus discriminators that lift the mark: keep personal (development) and strategic (future direction) distinct, and state the examinable claim that rising leaders most often neglect the strategic network.
Key terms
- Value Creator
- Someone who both requests and contributes help often (quadrant A of the request x contribute 2x2) — the most productive and best-regarded position.
- Giver / taker / matcher
- Adam Grant's three reciprocity styles: givers help without keeping score, takers extract more than they give, matchers trade tit-for-tat (the common default).
- Otherish giver
- A giver who is generous but strategic — protects their own time, sets boundaries and screens chronic takers; this is the giver who rises, not the self-sacrificing one who burns out.
- Comparative advantage
- A resource that is relatively easy for you to give but hard for others to get elsewhere (information and contacts are classic low-cost gifts); it is relative to those around you, not absolute skill.
- Generalised reciprocity
- Helping now without expecting an immediate return, trusting that over time you — or someone else in the group — will help you; relies on indirect return, trust and stable membership.
- Central connector
- The informal hub everyone goes to for information or help (Cross & Prusak); vital to support, but at risk of becoming a bottleneck.
- Boundary spanner
- A person who links their team to other teams or departments, importing outside resources into the group (Cross & Prusak).
- Three network types
- Ibarra & Hunter's operational (today's job), personal (development, often external) and strategic (future direction and priorities) networks — leaders must build all three.
Developing Relationships & Networks FAQ
Is the 'best networker' just the most generous person?
No. Being a giver is not automatically successful — Grant found givers at both the bottom and the top of success distributions. The winners are otherish givers who give generously but set boundaries; the 2x2 also rewards asking AND giving (the Value Creator), not one-directional generosity.
What is the most common exam mix-up in this topic?
Confusing Ibarra & Hunter's personal network with the strategic one. Personal = developmental (mentors, peers, often external); strategic = future-oriented (who shapes priorities and whose support you will need). A stem about a growth mentor is personal; ties that give foresight about direction are strategic.
Does 'comparative advantage' mean I have to be the best at something?
No — it is relative to the people around you, not absolute. You only need to be better than your immediate group at something, so that offering it is efficient. Information and contacts are often cheap for you to give but valuable to others.
Is generalised reciprocity the same as altruism?
No. It looks altruistic but it expects an eventual return — just an indirect, delayed one. It only works with high trust and stable membership, so the loop has time to close; calling it 'pure altruism' is the trap answer.
Why do leaders keep failing at networks even when they are technically strong?
Because they over-invest in the operational network (getting today's job done) and neglect the strategic network. The operational-to-strategic shift is the make-or-break of stepping up to leadership, per Ibarra & Hunter.
Exam move
Treat this week as a set of named frameworks you must be able to map onto a one-line scenario in the closed-book multiple-choice exam. Build a one-page grid with three columns — framework, author, and 'when it applies' — for the request x contribute 2x2, giver/taker/matcher, comparative advantage, generalised reciprocity, Cross & Prusak's network roles and Ibarra & Hunter's three networks. Drill the four high-yield discriminations until they are automatic: Value Creator asks AND gives (not just gives); the otherish giver wins (not the selfless one); comparative advantage is relative (not absolute); and personal vs strategic networks (development vs future direction). For the short-answer style, practise the name-author-apply move on fresh scenarios rather than reciting definitions — two well-applied frameworks beat a long list of names.
