What We're Reading Now
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a Match
19 April 2016
Allison read Feel Like a Million Dollars: Matchmaking and Happiness by Lalin Anik and Katherine Bowers and learned about research that shows professional or personal matchmaking can lead to greater well-being for the matchmaker.
Tags: allison read, careers, communication
Rachel and I are at the 2016 Virginia SHRM State Conference with more than 500 human resources colleagues. We get to learn from wonderful speakers, talk with all sorts of interesting people, and enjoy the beautiful Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA. This year, I also got to teach our course, The Art of Being a Great Boss, and Rachel taught a new course, The Performance Review Debate: Yes or No.
As you might imagine, there is a lot of networking that goes on at a conference like this so I was delighted to learn about some compelling new research about the personal satisfaction matchmakers can enjoy if they facilitate meaningful connections between people. You may hear the word "matchmaking" and think of these lyrics from the 1964 musical, Fiddler on the Roof:
"Matchmaker, Matchmaker,
Make me a match,
Find me a find,
catch me a catch
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Look through your book,
And make me a perfect match."
Now you might wonder why on earth I’m talking about matchmaking at a professional conference! It turns out that Lalin Anik from the University of Virginia Darden Business School and Michael Norton from Harvard Business School have discovered that, "Whether the matchmaking was romantic (a la a blind date) or platonic (introducing two colleagues), connecting others made the matchmaker happier. In a survey of 300 people, those who were habitual matchmakers reported greater well-being."
In this article, you can learn more about their research and discover why matchmaking is important not only for job searches, but also for organizations who need their employees to collaborate effectively. Finally, Anik explains some important matching making advice, "When matching, think meaning. Create varied matchmaking 'opportunities.' Be wary of incentives."
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