Whether you are new to campus or looking for new insights from a familiar place, there are various means to further your learning. And my intent with this post is to focus on a few just-in-time strategies you can use tomorrow to find community.

Malcolm Gladwell discusses the idea of connectors in his book, The Tipping Point. The quick of it is that for any idea to gain traction and hit that “tipping point” then it often comes after the leader learns who the connectors are within his organization. And in order for you to have a better chance for success, it’s critical for you to assess who they are starting today. It’s important to remember the notion that your connectors/leaders aren’t necessarily in positions of power; rather they have influence.

I like these questions for a few reasons. As I’ve noted in white on the image above, they begin to inform you where the connectors are in your organization. I also think it’s equally revealing who is not connected. If they don’t have answers for each question, or they simply seem to list themselves, then that is important for you to know as well.

The last tip that I’ve learned when using these is that, since these are personal questions, it is better to send them to people in a Google Form and allow them a couple days to respond. Then you have all the information together.

These questions are flexible and can be adapted in many ways. It’s also reasonable to expect the replies to evolve over the semester or school year. I hope you’ll try them out at your next opportunity and let me know how they work. And please also share any resources you may have curated in your continued attempt to find community.