Be Part of Something Bigger

It is curious how the concept of networking generates passions at both the most enthusiastic end, those who find answers to all of their questions on the networks, and the most apocalyptic end, those who see networks as a waste of time and resources in meetings and dynamics that distract and disperse.

I always like to talk about collaboration and networking, because this approach balances both extremes. Collaboration in the mission is what leads us to the networks and, at least in our case, networks do not make sense if they are not there to favor, sustain, and strengthen dynamics of collaboration around the mission.

But I must confess that, in my years of talks and conversations about networking, I have come to intuit the condition of possibility to be able to getting the dynamics of networks: it is about understanding the value of the collective approach, accepting that beyond me there is value for me. In other words, only a “networker” understands that there are missionary challenges that I cannot answer by myself, that there is something that I need from “the others” in order to develop that for which I was created.

This is why networking cannot be reduced to a mere program of study abroad or why one cannot think continuously that networks are only occasions for exchanges or provision of services. At the end of everything, the key of working in a network is if we are ready to be part of something bigger than ourselves. That should be our first question when undertaking any collaborative network effort. If the answer is no, then the challenge will not be networking but identity, and, I would almost dare to say, our experience of principle and foundation.