Several people have commented on the number of people in my online social networks. I have over 400 people following me on Twitter, over 200 connections on LinkedIn and over 500 on Facebook, which my protégé, Zach Bigby, manages. (I have no idea who some of those people are…)

There are a lot of people with larger numbers but mine are larger than most of the people I know. So what?

That’s a great question because while we’ve all been trained to pay attention to “the numbers” in this instance the numbers are meaningless. It’s not about the number of people in your network, their titles, or anything of the sort. The purpose of a social network is productivity, just like any team.

When evaluating your social network team you need to ask yourself two basic questions. (1) What can your team accomplish and (2) what can I contribute?

My team is very good at helping people find employment and we are getting better at producing revenue for Aligned Marketing. I work very hard for my team and am always looking for ways to contribute and provide value. Feel free to contact me if you want proof.

My team is good at finding employment for others because we have thousands of people in the network if you count our respective organizations. On a day-to-day basis, we are responsible for producing billions of dollars in revenue, millions in earnings and we trust and respect one another. If someone on my team recommends “Joe” as a “solid guy” then my team believes Joe is a solid guy. That gives Joe an edge in the job market.

How did I create an effective team? It started by being honest, professional and helpful. Virtually anyone on my team knows they can contact anyone else on my team, for the most part, and receive an “honest, professional and helpful” response.

I’ve also noticed that while there are people on my team who are almost always helpful, there are some who offer help repeatedly but somehow can’t locate their round-to-it when it matters most. That’s unfortunate, but true.

My advice to you is pitch in, participate, and help others whenever possible. I know it takes time, everything of value takes time. In return, your team will help you when (not if) you need them. That’s how a productive team is built and how they operate. People tend to respond well to someone who they trust and can rely on when it matters most. This isn’t rocket science.

But let’s not be naïve. There are a lot of people who are takers. As the saying goes, they wouldn’t pee on you if you were on fire. Those people are transparent and easily identifiable. I help them just as much as I would help anyone else.

Why? Because I believe it is the right thing to do. It is ingrained in my values. Besides, and this is where I may be naïve, I still believe that leading by example is the best way to lead. My goal is to coach them so one-day they will mature beyond a teenager-like sense of self and the unending glorious celebration of "ME." It’s a big world Bubba, and it’s not all about you.

Online and off, the person who gets the most out of a team is the person who is actively participating. It’s the alignment of being a good person, a good neighbor and a smart businessperson.

You can’t always contribute to every group on LinkedIn, for example, but how often can you be absent from the team before it no longer remembers or cares about you? This is voluntary. These teams do not have the obligation of family cementing it together.

Every time you ask your team for something try to contribute something of value back. It makes the team better and brings everyone closer together. The more you can leverage the contributions of your team, the more productive the team becomes, which makes others want to be part of your team.

When I worked at Square D I actually had two people come into my office, shut the door, and ask if they could join my team. When I asked them why they wanted to join my team they said, “you guys get stuff done and that’s really hard to do around here,” as it is at any large company. That wasn’t about me. That was about my team – Darren Torr, my boss Scott Harris, Bruce Whitbrodt and the senior management support I received from Bill Snyder, Ken Fairleigh and others.

Has anyone ever shut your door and asked to join your team?

Steve