WE BELIEVE:
Sure, there are a lot of similarities between relationship building and networking, but we've always felt like it was a flawed comparison. Personal relationships are one of the most important things in your life, and while our professional lives are important too, we never bought into the idea that work relationships carried the same weight in our lives.
Instead, we think about networking the act of expanding your professional perspective. When done well, networking can help you see situations in a new light, give you more insight into a space or industry, or give you hands on experience that gives you a better sense for a certain job or skill. Sometimes you can accomplish these things by connecting 1x1 with others, but it can also happen through things like:
When the goal of networking is to do things that expand your perspective (not connecting with more individuals along the way) you're more effectively expanding the foundation in which your career is built on.
SOMETHING WE LOVE:
— Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
YOU SHOULD TRY THIS:
A common character trait among great networkers is their generosity of time, insights, and resources. Why? Because when you share your professional stories, experiences and ideas with others, you're actually creating space to refine your own opinions and perspectives on things in real time, too.
The simplest example to see this in action is to imagine telling the same story to two different people; you can share the same details in each situation, but because of the people's different contexts, you'll likely get different questions and feedback from each person. In some cases, the difference between the conversation may be small, but in others, you may have entirely different conversations. Either way, by being open and authentic with others, you're naturally creating room for you to continue developing your own perspective. It's truly a win-win.
Next time you're in a work conversation, try this: share 10% more details than you usually would in a conversation with a co-worker. See what kind of questions and conversation naturally open up.
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