Some things come naturally to men and eventually prove very beneficial in the overall enhancement of their careers. When women see men chatting with their bosses about the latest golf score or a football match it appears to them as a waste of time. While they may actually appear to be whiling away time telling the boss that they share interests with each other and discussing various F1 strategies, they are actually building an influential professional network around them. Most women wonder why they are left behind when it comes to juicy assignments or promotions. But what they fail to understand is that corporate careers are made of much more stuff other than just performance and deliveries on time. Success cannot come from an attitude that states – as long as I deliver quality work on time I should get the promotion I feel I deserve. Disappointments for women in this arena can be blamed on their general indifference towards building professional relationships. Your boss may have a large team of people and among them a large proportion may be competitive. How then do you expect him to pick you when it comes to important assignments or promotions when you don’t stand out otherwise?
Building a professional network basically involves interacting with people in your organization and profession to build positive relationships. Networking does not mean ‘licking up to you boss’. Indeed it needs to be done at various levels – with your peers, your superiors and your juniors. While relationship building with your boss may land you the next highly visible assignment, networking with your juniors can actually get you the inside information that senior people tend to miss out on. Your network can benefit you in your current organization and in other aspects too. You can land up with a new job, keep up-to-date with current trends, get the latest information on the moves within the industry and also find a mentor in the process. At one of the later stages you yourself will become a part of someone else’s network and the chain goes on and on.
Some useful idea that you can use to build your professional network include:
Make sure that you take at least 5% time off from your work schedule every day to spend with co-workers. Use this time to talk about yourself and to listen to others.
Show interest in others. Try to build healthy relationships regardless of whether you share common interests or not.
Be consistent and never lie about yourself.
Grab all opportunities to speak about your talents but do that with concise and precise brevity. Remember that people do not like condescending attitudes and exaggerations.
Write articles and post them on the Internet. Drop a hint whenever you get an opportunity but avoid being too upbeat on it.
Take an active role in office functions. Volunteering is very useful in building professional relationships. Make sure that you volunteer for positions that allow maximum exposure to your talent and passion.
Don’t skimp when it comes to expressing thanks, good wishes and congratulations. Remember to send greetings on birthdays, holidays and thank you cards.
Don’t ask for favors from new contacts. Build a relationship first.
Attend all office dinners or celebrations and make sure that you meet with as many people as possible in a large office gathering.
One of the best ways to build professional networks is to socialize. Host an event at your house or fix a recurring get-together at a predetermined place. This helps in maintaining your network as well as expanding it if some members bring a member of their network.
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