Your Brilliant Career
Module 5: Build Your Network
An amazing career requires you to have a great network of people you can call on.
The people around you in and out of work can have a great influence on you so its important that you are around the right people that will support, guide, encourage and not hinder your journey to a great career.
The people you associate with on a daily basis will have a huge influence on what happens to you – so choose them well and tap their skills, knowledge and expertise. This is your success team – the team that will support your career as it takes off.
Who should be in your network?
When talking about careers and your network one person who will be in your network is your manager.
They have influence over your career. You need to build a strong relationship with your manager. You need to communicate with your manager on a regular basis both on your performance and your aspirations and ambitions. Your manager can help you tremendously in achieving your goals but they need to know what they are.
A good strategy to have is to some dedicated time each month with your manager, maybe a couple of hours where you discuss your career, your ambitions and your performance.
Go to that meeting with a clear idea of what you need to get out of it and leave with a clear action plan that is moving you closer to your goal. Find out about what your manager does in this meeting. What are his current priorities? What are his ambitions? By building an open relationship with your manager with mutual trust and respect you will begin to see some benefits in your career.
I look to build this relationship with at least one of my team – the one with the most potential as effectively I am grooming them for bigger things. Also as a manager it can be lonely so to be able to turn to one of your team is a great advantage.
If you manage a team or even one person they are an important part of your network.
How you manage them and develop them will have a significant effect on your standing.
Many managers think that there should be a big gap between them and their team because the last thing you want is for one of your team to be so good that they take your job. This is a sure fire route to failure.
Your attitude should be to develop your team so that one of them can step into your shoes and fulfil your role. This helps you in that you will be seen as a great manager by bringing the best out of people and developing people to reach new positions. Also it helps your career progression as its easier to promote you now or to give you more responsibility because the hole you leave behind will be easily filled.
My last promotion was actually as a result of me demonstrating that the members of my team had come on so much that they didn’t need me as a manager anymore and my role was not required anymore.
You may think this was suicidal and I could have been out of a job but I had enough confidence in myself to think that this would be seen as positive and as a result I did obtain a very big promotion.
Who are the high fliers in your organisation?
Who are the ones tipped for the top? The one or two people that everybody talks about as the next big things should be in your network. They should know who you are and you should spend time with them. Its important that you seek these people out and try and get them to help you in your career. You can learn a lot from them and also if they get to the top and they know you that can only be a big advantage.
Who amongst your family and friends is successful and positive?
They may be successful in a totally different area to you but nevertheless they are successful. Can you be around these people? Do you spend time with these people?
Another great way to be around positive people and to build your network is to join local groups or societies or even take on a role such as a school governor. You will be exposed to a variety of people many of whom have achieved success which you can learn from. You will enrich your own life by being around different people and also pick up new skills if you take up an active role in various organisations or bodies.
Get rid of people from your network
It sounds drastic but you don’t want to be surrounded by negative people who will drag you down.
You will generally have a couple of moaners at work for whom nothing is right and the world is against them. You don’t need this negative attitude in your life. Soon you will end up with the same hard done by philosophy which will get you nowhere.
You need to be able to deal with negative people and negative attitudes. Don’t agree with them or discuss such issues. My philosophy has always been that when I find myself moaning I tell myself “either do something about it now or ignore it and move on”.
Dealing with people
To build a network and to deal with people effectively you need great interpersonal skills.
Great leaders can deal with people effectively. This is the top skill to master because when you can deal with all sorts of people by influencing them, by motivating them, by bringing them around to your way of thinking then you really will be a master of your career. The people who get to the top have great brains but more importantly they have superb people skills.
How good are you at dealing with people? Do you enjoy talking to people? Not just people you know but total strangers. Can you pick the phone up and ask someone at work a question without feeling nervous and uneasy? Can you start a conversation and keep it going or are there periods of uneasy silence when you have conversations?
Become a great conversationalist. You need to be comfortable with people and be able to strike up a conversation with anybody. When you get good at this you will notice your presence and impact increase. You will get noticed even when you aren’t talking.
Dealing well with people earns you respect and that is a vital ingredient for a great career. Go out and earn the respect of everybody you meet.
That doesn’t mean you have to be nicey-nicey or agree with everything people say. It just means to treat each person with respect, honesty and integrity.
How do you become good at dealing with people?
1. Learn to enjoy communicating.
Communication means talking and listening. You must be able to listen attentively in a conversation and show interest as well as talking. Practice.
2. Be interested in people
Showing an interest in people is a great way to make friends and build relationships. Everybody likes it when someone takes an interest in them. A simple question about the family, the weekend or a work topic you know someone is working on means a lot to people and over time is rewarded. If you show you are interested in people you generally get the same interest back and you form a relationship. You now have a strong relationship in your network.
An easy way to show you are interested in people is to use their name, it means a lot to people when someone says their name. Also let them talk more than you and encourage them to talk – this makes them feel important. Always say thank you – simple but easily forgotten in the workplace.
3. State your expectations clearly
At work you will invariably need to ask others do something for you or you will need to exert your opinion. Whichever it is and whatever the scenario – you may be asking for a day off, you may be giving your point of view on a task, learn to state you point of view clearly and concisely with all the facts.
For example if you are asking someone to complete a report for you, you may say:
“Could you complete this report for me please”
but this is wishy washy, doesn’t really inspire the other party to take action and generally you’ll get a response that suggests that it will be put in someone’s in tray until you next prompt them.
“ I need this report for a meeting with Mr. Jones next Tuesday. Can you complete it and have it ready for me by this Thursday at 12 o’clock so that I can review it before I see Mr. Jones”
This is clear and there can be no confusion why the report is needed and when it will be needed. This will generate action.
4. Conflict and Arguments
You can and have arguments and conflicts and still come out with greater respect. A skill to develop is to ensure you only have healthy debates at work and never let them become arguments. You should be forming opinions on subjects and this will mean that you disagree with some people in your organisation. Don’t be afraid of having differing opinions. Don’t be afraid to discuss.
However, discuss them with an open mind and do not become precious about them. It’s not about winning the argument but its about making the best decision for the organisation your are in. That’s what gets you noticed. So each time you enter into a debate remember:
- Debate with a smile at all times – do not become aggressive
- Listen to other party and then challenge what they are saying
- Ask open questions to get them to your way of thinking
- Feedback what they have just said to– let them hear for themselves what they are saying to you – this is the best way to convince people if their argument is flawed
- Pick your battles – enter into the debates which are worth it and let others lie
5. Set high standards
The best way to influence people is by your actions. Have you ever tried asking your wife, husband, partner or child to do something and you just end up in an argument? For example I used to go on at my brother for not exercising and how he should spend some time on his health as well as his career. As you can imagine he told me where I could go! However, as I started exercising regularly and showing the benefits he then took action. He looked at my standards and wanted the same.
So have high standards and stick to them. Only measure people around you to your standards. Measuring them to any other standards is a sure fire way to alienate them. Always check and recheck your standards and ensure they are as high as can be.
Keep pushing them higher – this way you will be the best.
Actions of the Week
1. List everybody in your network
Now take five people off for the reasons mentioned earlier. Over the next month add five great people onto your network. Keep reviewing your network periodically.
2. Choose one book written by or about an inspirational person and read it within the next month
Make just five points from the book that you could implement in your life immediately.
3. Go out and communicate to people
Decide to be a great communicator and just do it.
Content © 1999-2009 Fiona Harrold Consultancy. All Rights Reserved.