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Through a series of laboratory experiments, researchers found that expanding a social network to include colleagues outside a go-to social circle can be a major boon to an upward career move.Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Globe's bimonthly report on research from business schools.

Jonesing for a promotion? The solution may rest in whom you hang out with in the workplace, according to research from the University of Windsor's Odette School of Business.

The study by lead author Catherine Shea, formerly a business professor at Odette and now teaching at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, examines the power that our professional ambitions have in determining the structure of our social networks – and vice versa.

"When people talk about achieving a promotion, they tend to say, 'I got a promotion because of my hard work and dedication,' or 'I struggled to carefully budget my time to successfully complete my tasks for my promotion,' " Dr. Shea writes in an e-mail.

The truth is, crediting only our individual efforts misses an important part of the equation.

"People rarely do things in isolation from other people," Dr. Shea says. "There are always people to seek advice from, to have lunch with and pursue friendships with. When we pursue goals, we do so both with and surrounded by lots of people."

Through a series of laboratory experiments, researchers found that expanding a social network to include colleagues outside a go-to social circle can be a major boon to an upward career move.

It comes down to what each person brings to the table.

"Two individuals who know each other will typically talk and have similar viewpoints and information, so if there's a new job or new opportunity, it's likely that two connected individuals will both know the same information.

"Meanwhile, two people who are not connected to each other can bring unique sources of information and ideas, such as job leads or innovative ideas," says Dr. Shea.

This fresh insight can lead to a more strategic approach to forming workplace friendships, the researchers agree. One experiment, for instance, found that ambitious workers are more likely to connect with co-workers when they need something from them, and view relationships as an important means of accomplishing goals.

The study also found that highly career-driven MBA students are more likely to seek out "disconnected" sets of friends. They had the same number of contacts in their networks as those who were less career-driven, but the key difference was the lack of connections among their contacts.

In addition, researchers found that whether someone is highly career-focused also influences the number of people who approach them for friendship. "These people were very attractive individuals in the network – everyone wanted to be friends with these people," says Dr. Shea.

The study was published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. It was co-authored by Grainne Fitzsimons of Duke University.

Story ideas related to business school research in Canada can be sent to darahkristine@gmail.com.

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