BLT #10 | What it REALLY means to network in 2024

WE BELIEVE:

The goal of networking to expand your perspective

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:

• Trying new activities in work or in life
• Building or refining habits that stretch yourself
• Saying yes to more things
• Looking inward and self reflecting

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:

“If you’re proactive, you don’t have to wait for circumstances or other people to create perspective expanding experiences. You can consciously create your own.”

— Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

YOU SHOULD TRY THIS:

Help expand someone else's perspective by being open and authentic

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.

Hungry for more?
Listen to this week's podcast to for more tips on how you can become a stronger networker today.