By Karen Stephenson • Special to The Courier- Journal • February 22, 2010

Take it from the anthropologist: At no time in the course of human history have we ever been this connected globally. Yet despite the amazing advances in technology, social media, free trade agreements and migrations that make our world seem small, hot and crowded, we still have huge, gaping holes in our ability to connect.

• Meet the 128 Leadership Louisville connectors
Take for example the aftermath of the tsunami in Southeast Asia, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans or the recent earthquake in Haiti. For all our techno-sophistication, sometimes we can look like bumbling idiots.

That's why it's critically important to look locally for our connections and connectors and to mobilize them to serve the greater community. The act of connecting people is really a very noble endeavor, for amid the cacophony of national scandals and financial meltdowns, the weary, cynical citizenry of the Louisville metro area took the time to nominate ordinary citizens.

This uncanny ability to altruistically recognize others is an evolutionary social imperative. Millennia ago, that same ability enabled our primordial ancestors to cooperate and overcome overwhelming environmental odds. So what is this alchemy of the human heart? The answer is TRUST.

No matter how sophisticated social media or of the team don't trust one another, nothing - or worse - will result.

Sub-optimal technology, on the other hand, can be overcome when a trusted team tackles a problem, precisely because collaboration flows at the speed of trust, not bandwidth.

So the lesson for Louisville is that connection can be both capricious and calculating, but it certainly is not random; it exists only where there is either trust or technology, and preferably both operating together and not at the expense of each other.

All of us are part of great experiments in our own communities, and we are also part of the problem.

But if we can reach across our differences to trust one another, we become the solution.

So what's the next logical step? Connect the connectors!

While one cannot legislate the formation of trust, one can certainly provide opportunities for trust to grow and bring together connectors once they are identified

Think about it. Imagine a world where sharing resources among these super connectors at this supra-level might connect neighborhoods better than any form of government or state mandated policy.

Imagine that long-stalled civic projects and public works might get a boost from these civic super stars. Who knows what can happen here in Louisville.

Dr. Karen Stephenson is a corporate anthropologist and lauded as a pioneer in the field of social-network business consultants. She is serving as adviser to the Leadership Louisville Connectors Project.

Here is a link to the original article.

For more information about the project go to www.leadershiplouisville.org/connectorproject