2-3-4 Friday 

‘Seeking to spark the most potential within you per word of any online newsletter’

1 thought

What do you do at a networking event? Let me guess. Talk to others. Weigh on issues. Share what you do. 

 

Can I take another guess? 

 

You don’t really like them. Wherever you are on the introversion-extroversion spectrum, networking isn’t how we’re naturally built to interact. If you think about our history, for the most part, we grew up in families, amongst friends we knew, with people we loved. You might say - well you can grow to love networking. Or

 

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. 

 

Well true, but how you know them matters too. Do you think you would make an impression if you were speeding through a networking event, trying as much as possible to meet as many people as possible? Or to share your name card with as many as possible? 

 

I don’t think so.

Find a way that works for you. 

 

I was recently at a networking event. You know the type. Fancy teas and coffees. People dressed in high-powered business suits. Others standing in circles weighing on the serious issues of the day. 

For a moment, I thought I should break into these circles and weigh in too. 

 

But I didn’t. Why? I didn’t like it. 

Okay okay. You may say that I should. After all, if I wanted to grow my business, I should be comfortable meeting new people. But I hated barging into conversations like a loud trumpet in a funeral hall. 

 

So I went to my seat. And sat. Drank my tea, and waited for others to come by. 

 

I still had good conversations with those who came around to my table. 

But I learnt an important lesson. 

 

That it’s not the strength of your network, but how secure you are in who you are. 

 

Because you can always talk to high and mighty people, hear about their experiences, compare yourself to them, and feel terrible. And daring to sit alone in that room, was an acceptance that even if I didn’t talk to anyone that day, it was okay. 

 

I didn’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not. 

 

What about you? Do you pretend to be someone you’re not? 

1 talk

This question in particular is key, and it’s one that has served me throughout my career: “Do you know anyone it would be helpful for me to talk to?

• Shellye Archambeau, in her book ‘Unapologetically Ambitious’

1 tip 

Okay okay. So you’re introverted but you still need to expand your network. How?

 

What works for me is to have 1-1 conversations with people. And if you want to know more people, start with your personal acquiantances.

 

Simply ask, 

“Do you know anyone it would be helpful for me to talk to?

 

This question, recommended by Shellye Archambeau, in her book ‘Unapologetically Ambitious’, is the one question which she says eventually catapulted her meteoric (and unlikely) rise from being an African American girl to the CEO of MetricStream, a tech company. 

 

P.S. Want to think differently about a problem you're facing? Talk to me, (and no worries, there's no fee!)

 

John

Live Young, Live Well - Work Your Love