What if everyone had access to the social connections they need to thrive?
Are you an RSA Fellow? Submit your original article to Circle and it could be featured as the next Comment spotlight.
This International Women’s Day, and Women’s History Month, the RSA US team has invited female-identifying Fellows to explore how social capital, social connections, and building community, intersect with their work. Throughout the month of March we will feature a series of blogs exploring how social capital – the network of relationships and support systems that help people succeed—can make a world of difference, particularly for women. From journalists to coaches to network architects, these female-identifying Fellows are building bridges, and creating the connective tissue that holds communities together.
Christabel Nsiah-Buadi, please tell us a little bit about your work in the world.
I’m an executive strategist, award-winning global journalist, and the founder of “Your Podcast Pipeline,” which offers podcasters insights and guidance for their editorial development needs. I have built and hosted shows for major media companies and, while working as an executive at Spotify, I developed shows and provided creators with tools to grow their audiences. I also created Spotify’s Behind the Mic podcast production fellowship and its mentorship initiative, Narrative Shift. My work includes contributions to KCET, American Public Media, the BBC, and NPR, and I have taught journalism and audio storytelling at institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, Howard University and Spelman College. My writing on parenting and media has appeared in The Independent and British Vogue.
What does social capital mean to you in your life? What is your personal experience of social capital?
Recently, a judge from an awards ceremony I volunteered for emailed me to say, “You’ve come highly recommended by several people. You’re highly respected in this space, and I just wanted you to know that.”
I was shocked, but I needed to hear it! The message arrived when I was reflecting on what was next for me in an industry that I’ve invested so much in – news radio and podcasting are facing turbulent times. It reminded me of what building ‘social capital’ should look like: establishing trust through authenticity, openness, and kindness. Gaining respect in our fields is essential for collaboration.
My parents taught me to ensure my actions align with my words—let my “yes” be “yes,” and my “no” be “no.” This isn’t always easy, especially in media, where competition is fierce and cliques form quickly, but it’s necessary. From my perspective, the capital people use to try to win is ‘intellectual’ (by wanting to be the smartest kid in the room) or that of social influence.
For me, though, building social capital means maintaining an open door when I’m in a leadership position. It’s about cooperation and collaboration to support and learn from one another. Doing these things empowers people to form meaningful connections, creates access to information, and, yes, also builds trust! This gives us a strong foundation to achieve goals, no matter how ambitious they seem.
It reminded me of what building ‘social capital’ should look like: establishing trust through authenticity, openness, and kindness.
How do you see social capital playing out in your field of work?
Social capital helps me build trust in my working relationships, and also means that information, insights and access flow much more easily and faster, because we understand what common goals we’re working toward.
Can you share some of the ways you are aware of having benefited from the kinds of relationships, connections and opportunities that social capital speaks to?
Over time, I’ve seen how much my relationships and connections have positively impacted my work. People remember the projects I’ve been a part of and, as a result, they’ve recommended me for new opportunities or referred me to others who might need my skills. These ongoing connections have not only led to more work but also to deeper collaboration. It’s clear that the trust and rapport I’ve built with others have created a foundation where people are always willing to engage in conversations, share ideas, and even offer help when I need it.
What about some ways you have lost out from not having had access to social capital?
If I look at social capital from the perspective of having powerful contacts, I am a Scottish-born kid with roots in Ghana, and I was raised on a council estate. I never had access to powerful connections in the traditional sense, within the British system, and was told that education would be the key to my success.
My parents told me that I’d have to work twice as hard to get half as much, and I’ve seen how their fears played out in my life.
While I had plenty of social capital within my community and never felt like I had nothing to offer, I learned early on that education would help me get ‘so far’ but in the end if I didn’t know the right people, or more importantly, they didn’t know ME, I wouldn’t get access to opportunities that my peers – and I’ll be direct – often white peers, would have access to.
This absence of social capital in the workplace made me feel that my early success was temporary or precarious. As I advanced in my career, and stepped into more senior roles, I experienced firsthand how individuals with more connections to power are able to navigate their way through organizations and express themselves in ways I had never thought possible.
What would you like to see happen around increasing and expanding social capital in this country?
As you’re aware, access to systems that provide opportunities for individuals to develop or access social capital in the United States has been rolled back.
However, one thing that remains unchanged is the ongoing willingness to discuss who has access to social capital and who does not. It’s essential for people to engage in an honest conversation about what access truly looks like.
Christabel Nsiah-Buadi is an executive strategist, award-winning global journalist, and the founder of “Your Podcast Pipeline,” where podcasters can access insights and guidance for their editorial development needs. Learn more about her work through her website and her LinkedIn page.
Do you want to learn more about our Social Connections intervention in the U.S.? Get in touch with our team to find out more. Email them today at general.us@thersa.org. Or you can sign up to our Social Connections newsletter.
Our social connections work will oversee a step-change in encouraging approaches and practices that value and commit to stewarding social capital.
#Female #Fellows #shaping #stories #amplifying #voices
