Today, LinkedIn announced the introduction of a new connection tool. Named “How You’re Connected” it aims to make the process of finding someone you are connected to, that is connected to a person you want to make contact with much easier.

Imagine how powerful this idea could be in the professional context of your own life, as goals become more attainable when you’re able to connect and collaborate with others who can help you achieve them.

So from today onwards when looking for an introduction to someone you may not know yet, you will now not only see the people in your network are that knows them on their Profile, but also how they know each other. This information provides you with a very powerful tool and allows you to decide who the best contact is to instigate a request for an introduction from them.

By selecting the best person to ask for an introduction you have a much better chance of  making contact and hopefully meeting this person. For example a connection that worked with this person recently is more likely to have a stronger, more relevant connection and therefore be the best source for an introduction.

This tool is an improvement on earlier tools that highlighted the degrees of separation between you and a potential contact.