Build your network

Today, I want to talk about how important it is to build your network, even if networking takes you out of your comfort zone.  

A lot of the leaders I work within organisations say to me, "I don't want to build my network because it feels like I'm being political.”

I want to challenge this thinking. I want to invite you to reframe networking in your mind from ‘playing the politics game’ to wanting to find out how can you add greater value to the business. 

Ask yourself, ‘How can I and my team provide greater value to the business?’  

Allocate time in your calendar to meet with stakeholders in the business to ask them, "How do we provide our greatest value to you?", "How can we support your business area more?" and “Who else should I be meeting with to add greater value?” 

By doing that you both strengthen your existing network and build relevant new connections. Keep in mind that all of those people have connections as well.  

What you're doing is building relationships, building advocates, building your level of influence and your impact and building trust. 

So it's not that hard. Think of networking as adding value.  

So what's a step that you could take right now to action this? 

Think of three people in your network and invite them to a 30-minute meeting over the next few weeks and take the time to ask them those questions. 

Then create a system in your calendar say in three, four or six months to circle back and meet with them again. For key stakeholders, I encourage you to do this more often, so maybe it's monthly or bi-monthly. Taking this time on a regular basis helps to further develop key relationships and informs how your team can best support the business.  

I hope that has been helpful and that you got some value from this article. 

At MAD Leaders I work with leaders to elevate their capability, brand and career planning.  

If you want to jump on a quick call to chat about how I can help you, use this link to select a time for us to talk: https://madleaders.com.au/meeting