Experts POol

Networking is not a dirty word

Networking is not a dirty word. I once didn’t receive a promotion because my “commercial” skills were not up to par. A previous colleague and SVP at an executive search firm who grew up the sales route and was a master at it (you know the type who just walks in and commands the room) advised me – change your mindset, take the word “commercial” out of it and replace it with “building relationships”. The same goes for “networking” which, as an executive coach, is a “dirty” word for many.

The book that changed Warren Buffett’s life as a teenager was Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People and with thousands of business and self-help books, articles, YouTube videos, etc. out in the world today, it is still a classic that I recommend to the right audience. Simple ideas such as becoming genuinely interested in other people and the value of using names – across all levels of an organization – are easy to immediately adapt.

With over 25 years experience in the executive search and leadership assessment and development industry, I realized I was a pro at building internal relationships. When I was in executive search, I formed productive relationships for the specific search I was conducting and did not make the effort to continue the relationships afterwards. This was a huge opportunity lost.

Whatever your blind spot is – I’m not “commercial”, I hate “networking”, I’m not a “political” person…

• Change your mindset into building the types of relationships that make sense for you both internally and externally; strengthen your current sphere of influence (friends, family, colleagues, etc.), move outside your comfort zone and expand your reach
• Invest the time on a consistent basis, develop a regular cadence
• Keep yourself accountable to expand the relationships that will be gratifying to you in the future (e.g., new job, new business, new friendship): Did I invest one hour this week to reach out to my network or beyond? Did I make two new contacts today? Did I have lunch with someone new this week? etc.

The small amount of time invested may not seem very impactful in the beginning. It will be a seed that will grow and a habit that will form toward discovering the roles and experiences in which you aspire.

Maribel Langer, Bus Ad '89, is a principal at Korn Ferry Hay Group in Chicago. She can be reached at maribel.langer@kornferry.com