Your tribe is your vibe. What happens when you don’t have a tribe? Network.
I am an absolute believer in the value and power of our networks. So many of us hold one of two but slightly mistaken views around networking:
- Networking is hard
- Networking is limited to attending networking events.
Networking is what we do on a daily basis! We just need reminders on how to be more intentional about how we network and why we network. As a business owner in South Africa, networking is a key element to how I grow my business and grow other women’s businesses. Right now, the world is experiencing and rate and pace of change that was never imagined and is difficult to comprehend. The only constant that we have is our relationships — especially at a time when we realise that the more we digitise the more we need to humanise. For me, networking is not only a nice-to-have but it is the asset that sits in the centre of my business and my life. We all know what we are meant to do with our assets:
- Nurture them
- Protect them
- Leverage them
It is easy to think that by building a huge “network” on online social networks, that we are “networked”. Yes, it is incredibly satisfying to see those numbers add up and I’ve even been told by talent acquisition experts that one of the things they look for in candidates is the number of connections they have on their profiles. This is all good and well but what we then forget to do is nurture our networks. Yes, we are time starved but what does it take to send someone in your network an update email, a request for a coffee, an invitation for a walk or even including them in a light social activity? Cape Town is a beautiful city with stunning sunsets and vistas so even when it feels a little awkward, from time to time, I like to invite people in my network to meet with each other. I am connector at heart so this works for me — why it works for those in my network is that they begin to see that by staying close to me they are in spaces where they too can meet new people and also interact with me in conversations that extend beyond the professional realm. This is humanising.
At the same time, we need to exercise intentionality when it comes to how we grow our networks. So, I’ve just said that one of the value adds of being in a network is to grow the network by connecting people to each other, there is also nothing more disheartening than receiving a message from someone saying “so-and-so said we should connect” and you have no idea why this was said and who this person is. Be fierce about how you protect your network. It is your asset and you do not owe it to anyone. One of the ways of learning how to protect your network is to exercise the notion of reciprocity. I have a friend, and she and I get together twice a year for drinks. We then spend most of that time catching each other up on our professional activities and we always arrive at our catch up sessions with a list of people we have met that we think the other person could benefit from meeting with. It is an agreed upon way of doing things and so it means that we hardly send random people each other’s way and it also means that we trust each other completely when we make and receive suggestions. Protect your network by establishing terms of reference and a code of conduct.
Something that is weirdly challenging for women is the notion of leveraging our networks. So many women say “but I don’t want you to think I am using you”. Please use me! If we have an established relationship of trust, then why would it not make sense for you to reach out to me if you know that there is someone in your network who could be useful to you? Leverage your networks! I believe in the power of 10: whenever I need something or someone to assist me realise a dream or an objective, I always sit down and send a message to 10 people in my network. I make sure to be clear with what it is that I am looking for, provide context in as much detail as is possible and definitely provide a clear way to get back in touch with me. 10 people receive my message, if none of them can help me then they pass my message on to their 10 people and so it goes. The power of 10, the power of leveraging your network.
Networking is hard work but it is not hard. Networking is not about attending every after-work event. Networking is essential to staying alive in your professional life. I challenge you today, to scroll through your phone, pick 5 names and send them an invitation for a coffee catch up; arrive at that coffee date with a list of things you’d like to discuss and I dare you to ask one thing of that person, that could help you realise an objective that you set for yourself.
