What does"belonginess" mean for, say, entrepreneurs?

Dan Berger asked me this question that wcaught my interest...

How to measure "belonging"? Yeah, tough sledding. But some cool stuff too!

1) if I ask "do I belong to group X?", some would say that my perception matters. Others would say that it's the group's perception. (A few think that both matter - separate dimensions of "belongingness".)

1a) some think only objective measures count - time spent, dues paid, etc. 

2) more recent thinking is that "belonging" is not passive state, rather an active state. What you do re the group matters, quantity and quality. Is your belonging transactional/instrumental? Or is it more relational? (Quality gets us back to the subjective...) 

3) We all live in social networks - an entrep ecosystem is a crazy network of networks. What type of network does your group reflect? It matters whether it's highly centralized (left in diagram below) or very flat/decentralized [called "distributed", rightmost]. Belongingness in a flatter network is different than in a tight hierarchy. 

Andy Stoll turned me on to this figure at Kauffman ESHIP Summit.]

In social network analysis (I'll grossly oversimplify), we chart who connects to whom - how often, how long, how valuable, etc. are things we can count. Dan & I both talk to many people, hopefully we not in a rush, and we add value.

The really interesting question is your role in the network - if you are a connector, you likely belong and those you connect with frequently are probably too. At the margin, though... there are two different kinds of "connectors".

The above figure is from the awesome Karen Stephenson (for an early great paper: www.bit.ly/Karen_S

Are you a 'hub' (labels vary) who connects selflessly or are you a "gatekeeper" who connects people to valued resources. It is very powerful to be the only access point to a valued resource - and very rewarding. Unselfish connectors don't get paid, :( Meanwhile, even the most selfish gatekeepers easily rationalize their guard duty - what if everyone had access to this key information? :) 

Both can be high in belongingness, though the power player can be seen (and see themselves) as central to the network/group. You can feel more belonginess if you're connecting with the gatekeepers., though gatekeepers may not see that (Belong = what you've done/to me)

Hubs are often much less visible. In Philadelphia, they did two parallel studies - who are the 100 most influential residents and the top 100 connectors? Overlap was... one person. Everyone knew the first set of names, very few knew many of the latter. Having 50 of the hubs on speed dial won't give you visible belonginess where even 5-10 of the influentials lets you swagger. But over time, belonginess increases as the hubs keep adding value (and you add value yourself). 

Of course, if it's a flat/distributed network, there's no way to control the center except for trying to control critical resources.That accelerates the incentive for gatekeepers to keep control.

OTOH, it should be easy to see that the "hubs" are essential to flatter networks. As they get flatter and more complex/dynamic/interconnected... it's not enough to be unselfish - you need to also be professional and proactive. A wonderful term coined years ago was the 'liaison-animateur", the engine of entrepreneurial development - both a bridger and an energizer! 

Dan, I know this wandered a bit but one final measure of belonginess fits here. If people connect to you, great; if you connect others, great... but as the ad says, if you connect others... priceless!