Strong Ties

Strong ties are close, high-trust relationships — family, best friends, long-term colleagues — characterized by frequent contact and mutual obligation. They provide psychological safety and honest feedback in private.

Strong ties excel at Cheerleader support but may struggle to deliver uncomfortable truth or novel market intel. They can also reinforce your existing beliefs because they share your world.

Healthy career networks blend strong and weak ties. Don't expect your kitchen cabinet of strong ties to replace a diversified board. Periodically ask strong ties: "What am I not seeing?" — and weight their answers against outside views. Cheerleaders are often strong ties; Challengers are often not — seek both deliberately rather than assuming one best friend can play every archetype well.