#41 – Tristan Claridge: Social Capital in the 2020s - What Really Builds Connection

Описание: Tristan Claridge is the President of the International Social Capital Association. In my final episode of Rediscovering Connection in 2025, we explore how Social Capital works, why it can never be transactional, and why authenticity and attention are the real foundations of strong relationships.

Listen to our conversation for greater clarity, perspective, and a reframe of how we think about Social Capital and Social Wealth today, including:

✨What social capital is (and what it isn’t)
✨Why social capital only functions when social needs are met
✨How authenticity and “obs listening” strengthen connection
✨Why people often underestimate the social capital they already have
✨The difference between having access to networks and feeling socially wealthy
✨ How knowing more things about each other, creates opportunities for deepening trust, and collaboration.

This episode is especially relevant for those who want to understand connection more deeply, explore how to activate the social capital they already have, and reflect on what it takes to build socially healthy, high-trust teams in a modern, distributed world.

If this conversation sparked your curiosity to delve deeper, I support organisations by working with HR, L&D and People & Culture leaders to turn disconnection into measurable Social Health, using the principles of Social Wealth to build socially healthy, high-trust teams.

One way this work comes to life is through my Social Wealth Workshop. This is an interactive, strengths-based session designed for innovative leaders and teams who want to better understand how Social Wealth functions, and how it can be activated to support social health at work.

You can explore this work here:
https://www.thecommuniverse.com/workshop

To hear when new episodes drop, subscribe to my weekly newsletter:
https://communiverse.vip/newsletter

Time Stamps
[00:00] Intro and why this episode landed two weeks later (TEDx Salon, “pressure is a privilege”)
[03:30] Tristan’s origin story: sustainability, group effectiveness, and discovering social capital
[07:10] Why the Social Capital Conference matters (Dubai, March 2026) https://www.socialcapital2026.com/
[10:10] Tech as a tool: connection across distance, but potential erosion of depth
[12:30] Passive vs active social media and why “scrolling” is not socially satisfying
[15:20] “Obs listening” (observing + listening): how conversation builds stronger ties
[19:10] Networking fatigue, memory, and why authentic connection is easier to remember
[23:40] Do we need to keep every connection? Social capital vs being present in the moment
[27:00] Bonding vs bridging social capital, and why both matter
[31:10] Your findings: small “safe ties” and the power of normalising that
[34:10] Social wealth vs social capital: activation, emotion, and dormant networks
[40:10] Why “capital” is misunderstood, and why it cannot work through exploitation
[46:00] Parasocial relationships at work and why senior leaders can be socially isolated
[49:30] Remote-first connection strategies (own your failure, lunch and learns, internal talks)
[53:30] Opportunities come from knowing things about each other (beyond job titles)
[57:10] Closing message: social capital is built through giving without expectation

About Tristan Claridge
Tristan Claridge is a globally recognised expert on social capital, with over two decades of experience advancing theory, practice, and policy in the field. He is the Founding President of the International Social Capital Association (ISCA), Director of the Institute for Social Capital, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), and a Visiting Associate Professor at Heriot-Watt University.

Tristan’s work focuses on developing a deeper understanding of how social capital is formed, maintained, and activated, bridging rigorous academic research with real-world application. He works internationally with researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to build social capital as a vital resource for individuals, organisations, and communities.

Find Tristan at https://www.tristanclaridge.com/
LinkedIn / tristan-claridge