Career Winners Circle

Many of us have a natural tendency to focus on relationships and build a strong community in our personal lives. This untapped talent should put us in the driver’s seat when it comes to building and maintaining a strong professional network. 

I’ve spent hundreds of hours with my clients helping them figure out why they find it so hard to transfer these skills to a work context and put a plan together to build a professional network that will set them up for years to come. Many start to focus on it at the worst possible time… about 10 minutes before they need it. Building and maintaining professional relationships should be an ongoing process that we don’t put on the backburner. You want to create a strong and diverse network long before you actually need to rely on it.

Whether you’re an expert networker or don’t even know where to begin, here are four best practices we should all be mindful of and include in our weekly work routines to create and sustain a healthy and vibrant professional network.

Leverage social media but don’t use it as a crutch.  Like it or not, technology and all things social media- related are here to stay and will continue to evolve. You should make sure that your work related social media sites are updated and provide an accurate reflection of you. It’s always a good idea to go back every six months to give it a little refresher.  That being said, nothing replaces actual human interaction. At a minimum, you need to connect with people verbally and in person whenever possible. It’s where all the action happens and deeper connections are made. 

When I ran sales teams earlier in my career I remember prospective sales candidates coming to me so proud of their Rolodex and who they knew (yes I’m dating myself). I really didn’t care who they knew. I cared about who knew them! If you met the CEO of a fortune 500 company once at a charity event, you hardly know him and he certainly couldn’t pick you out of crowd of one. I encourage you to ask yourself – who knows you? 

Expand beyond your current power base. It’s very easy to stay within the same comfy circle of friends and colleagues at work. You all know each other, maybe you go to lunch or an occasional happy hour, share the same experiences and life is easy.  A stagnant power base will result in a stagnant career. If you never branch out, how are you ever going to learn something new or gain a different perspective? Building broad and deep relationships can be very rewarding but where do you start?

The best relationships begin when you share an experience that has purpose and meaning. Attempting to establish a relationship for the sole purpose of adding to your network lacks depth and is nearly impossible to sustain. Remember how awkward those “will you be my friend?” moments were on the playground? No one wants to do that. Find ways to collaborate with each other on a specific work or philanthropic activity and the relationship will begin to solidify and deepen.

Here’s an exercise I often give my clients who lack a strong network. Ask 10 people in your inner circle to each introduce you to one person you don’t know very well but who are still within your work structure (it could be a technology partner, sales person, legal department – someone connected to your day to day work). Make time to meet these 10 new people and find ways to engage on a work related activity. Six months later, do the same thing with your new network and so on. In 18 months you’ll have 30 new colleagues in your professional community with meaningful relationships.

Trust but verify.  I personally believe that people are inherently good and come from a positive place. That being said, we need to get real about women supporting other women in the workplace. While there is so much good that is going on out there, Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In” should have been named “Lean in Without Getting Punched in the Face”. In talking with many of my clients, whenever they’ve been on the receiving end of a surprise attack – the majority of them came from another woman! 

Given the nature of this series, I understand this may make some of you bristle. Business and accelerating your career is highly competitive but we have got to stop cutting each other down. There is so much more to gain by supporting each other. My observations have been that women will support other women when they don’t have anything to loose.

I’ve been a long-time advocate of empowering women in business and have been in a positon to see the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to how we interact with each other. My point is this: don’t assume every smile implies a good intention and every frown a bad one. Actions speak louder than words. Pay attention to what isn’t being said, body language and your gut instincts before aligning your inner circle.

It’s a small world after all. People often change jobs but it’s less typical for them to change industries. As your network shifts outside your company, be sure to maintain the relationship and look for opportunities to build your network with people at other firms. If you don’t have colleagues playing musical chairs, look for people who have similar jobs at other companies. 

A simple networking lunch or coffee to discuss a common challenge facing your industry would be enough to start broadening more meaningful relationships outside your current company. Want to diversify from all work and no play? We all love our special causes. Tune up your philanthropic spirit, do something good and build your network at the same time with like-minded people. 

With a million competing priorities at work and home, there never seems to be enough time or energy to really focus on building a strong community. To succeed in business, having a strong, diverse and meaningful network isn’t a nice to have, it’s imperative.  Building your network is a lot like exercise, even if you don’t have a solid hour every day to work out – finding 15 minutes several times a day can make a big difference in your long term results. 

Are you looking to grow your career and strengthen your leadership style? Schedule a complimentary coaching session at https://go.oncehub.com/OwnYourPower.