06/30/2025

Building Social Capital as a Young Association Leader

Investing in your social capital is an investment in your growth and connection

Association professionals are very social people. It makes sense. We work for organizations that invite people to gather with annual meetings, regional conferences, virtual discussions, receptions, and happy hours.

I find myself at many of these events, but as an ambivert who is not immediately outgoing and has anxiety, it is still overwhelming. Yet — despite working remote/hybrid for five out of the eight years at my organization — I find myself with a supportive network of colleagues in my organization and across the association community. At first, I thought, “Wow. I'm really lucky to have this social network.” But luck didn't have much to do with it at all. I had this network because I invested time and effort to seek out genuine social connections that built my social capital. (I do need to say, though, that I am fortunate to work for an organization that encouraged this.)

The Value of Social Capital

The concept of social capital has been around for decades. Although there are different ways to think about social capital, it is essentially the concept that social relationships built on trust, connection, and positive regard, are crucial to personal and professional outcomes. You can learn more about it at the Institute for Social Capital.

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE’s Center for Association Leadership.