The test that measured the relational capital of 90 leaders

A monthly gathering of high-level female executives known as the Círculo de Mujeres Semana Dinero took place this Thursday at the Gun Club in Bogotá, featuring two talks and a structured networking exercise. The event was opened by Andrea Arnau, former member of Shark Tank, with her presentation titled Menos pitches, más valor. Following this, Livi Silva, CEO of Freedom Smart Finance, delivered a talk entitled El ROI de las relaciones, which set the tone and structure for the day's discussions. Silva, an expert in finance and psychology of money, began with a comparison, stating that relationships function similarly to compound interest investments. She presented three uncomfortable truths: relationships do not provide immediate returns ("as much as we want them to, as much as we need them"); value multiplies over time rather than intensity; and nearly all relationships are abandoned during the flat phase ("right before the curve starts to rise"). To help each attendee identify their position on this curve, Silva introduced five archetypes: the collector, who has contacts but lacks real relationships; the hunter, who appears only in emergencies; the invisible one, trapped in the belief that "talent without witnesses does not capitalize"; the provider, who ends up exhausted, indispensable, and undervalued; and the architect, whose ecosystem generates return even while she sleeps. With this emotional diagnosis, Silva administered a six-statement test, each scored from 1 to 4, to help attendees understand exactly whom they needed to connect with for their next goal. The total score from these six statements classified the professional networks of the participants into four levels: dormant network (6 to 11 points), active network (12 to 16), strategic network (17 to 20), and high-impact ecosystem (21 to 24). The session concluded with a personal exercise in which each participant selected five names for their "personal board of directors." Each name had to fulfill one of five roles: sponsor, connector, challenger, accelerator, or ally. Silva’s final question was: "What seat are you missing?" Thirty minutes later, this framework moved into practice: ten tables, nine women per table, three rounds, and two minutes of pitch per person, with a change of table after each round. The results were immediate. Dina Marcela Díaz, founder of Power Services, estimated she left with around 30 contacts, including Carolina Solano, lawyer and founder of Waias, a legal consulting firm for women, and Sandra Alarcón, National Director of BNI Colombia, a company specializing in business training and networking opportunities. "Here, fear is lost," summarized Díaz about her first experience of this kind. From the talk, she retained the exercise of the personal board of directors, "I found it masterful", and the overall balance of the day: "I leave energized, empowered." Carolina Solano, CEO of Waias, echoed Silva's main idea: "Relational capital is one of the most valuable assets we can have as individuals and professionals," emphasizing that women must stop being invisible and speak about their businesses "with confidence." Jennifer Sáenz, CEO of Elespik, pointed to the same principle: "The key to alliances is not seeing what we can get, but asking how we can add and, above all, how we can serve." Between the theory of compound interest and the dozens of contacts generated through the three rounds, the Círculo de Mujeres tested live the formula Silva proposed from the beginning: relational capital is not improvised, it is designed.