Time and time again, I get asked: Why are we so passionate about
networking for women in Professionelle?
Well, the real truth of it is that we learned the hard way! I
never used to network; I didn't see the point of it really. I had
my friends and people I liked, I saw networking as phoney and
artificial and I felt that it was inconsistent with my personal
values. Of course, I also didn't have the time, I had a young baby
and a full-on job and my perception of networking was that it was a
forced situation, usually involving drinks and superficial
conversations. I also felt that I was already in touch with all the
people I would ever want to be in touch with and that I could be
introduced to any further people through my existing contacts.
Then I had another baby, my position was made redundant and my
former employer moved offices! Just like that, I dropped off the
radar and lost contact with numerous colleagues and associates. The
timeframe in which you start to feel like you are totally forgotten
and completely irrelevant professionally is shockingly fast!
Over the next few years I worked hard to re-establish my
professional contacts. I decided that my approach had been far too
narrow-minded and that I needed to try and keep my mind open to new
networking opportunities and give them a go. Sarah and I also
started Professionelle and we began to seriously study the things
that are really important and beneficial for professional working
women's careers and personal wellbeing.
Iit turns out that seasoned professionals and academics both
view networking as a powerful tool for career progression and
building personal and professional resilience for both women and
men. And unsurprisingly, it is also widely acknowledged that women
under-invest in their social capital through networking, largely
due to multiple demands on their time.
In the near-two years since we've established Professionelle,
we've conducted online surveys; interviewed women in all stages of
their career; coached, conducted workshops and had many informal
discussions on this very topic and our findings have been
remarkably consistent - professional women, throughout their
careers and across occupations, don't spend much time networking.
Some don't see the value in it at all but many others have the same
reservations I had and often feel under-equipped to network
effectively.
Why is networking such a powerful tool?
There are so many reasons to why networking is such a powerful
tool that I really find it difficult to know where to begin. Going
back to my own journey, networking is a wonderful way to get
perspective. As I began feeling more and more professionally
irrelevant and isolated, havingt my husband and friends tell me
that it wasn't the case, in truth, didn't really help. I guess, I
thought 'they're telling me to be nice'. But when I caught up with
a professional colleague who was genuinely interested in what I was
doing and in my plans for the future, it was like a big physical
boost to my professional self-esteem.
Talking to a wide range of people from different companies
brings you a diversity of thought, and really does give you a
wonderful perspective and opens your eyes to possibilities and
avenues you might not have realised were available or even possible
for you. In truth, the seeds for Professionelle were planted in my
mind during a networking coffee with a former colleague who set up
her own business as a contractor, one who has since become one of
our staunchest supporters.
Networking can be powerful in building personal and professional
resilience, as was the case for me, as an effective way to find out
about professional opportunities inside and outside your company
and also to build relationships with individuals who could, over
time act as informal mentors.
People in all occupations and employment configurations (full
time, part time, self employed etc) benefit from networking, be it
through the informal conversations that allow you to find out about
a new and exciting project in your company's pipeline, or through
an introduction that might lead to a new customer if you're
self-employed.
But my definition of networking isn't confined to an 'event'. To
me, networking is any and all opportunities to talk to someone new.
In fact, my preference is towards the more intimate side of the
networking scale, I value having lunch, or a coffee. These give me
an opportunity to really get to know someone and learn about them
and what they do. However, more often than not, I have met these
exciting people in a formal event (and increasingly, through
Professionelle), yet again illustrating powerfully and personally
that it is through 'being out there' that you really get to meet
people you wouldn't normally be able to!
So, how do you go about it?
My discussions and work with professional women made me realise
that most instinctively see the value in networking. But the key
barriers are the same as mine used to be; many women see networking
events as 'phoney' and 'disingenuous'. They believe that the people
who attend them are only there to see how others can help them or
are there only to generate business. In short, they don't think
people attend networking events in order to 'just' meet one another
and to build genuine relationships.
The truth is that some people do treat networking in this very
superficial way. But what matters is how you approach
networking. If you go about it in a genuine way, wanting to get to
know people and see how you can help others, then your networking
will be authentic and will be seen as such by others. You're also
more likely to really enjoy the experience. Positive Psychology
researchers are consistently finding that people who gear
themselves in a way which is focused on others' needs, rather than
on their own, end up happier, and more personally and
professionally fulfilled, and more resilient.
My Tips
My first tip is to approach networking as a legitimate way of
being nosey! Here's a perfectly socially respectable way to ask
lots of questions and find out what people do, what they're
professionally (and sometime personally) up to. I find that most
people who come to networking events are very comfortable with my
'interrogations'! They like to share what they do - and I love to
find out!
You might want to decide before going in that you will make a
point of talking to at least four people you haven't met before.
After all, there isn't much point going to these events if you
spend the whole time talking to your colleagues… but I am always
surprised to see how many people do exactly that. Sarah and I have
a rule: we try not to sit next to each other in networking events.
It might pay to have the same rule for yourself and your colleagues
the next time you attend one.
As I said earlier, I like to get to know people personally over
coffee or lunch. I always make a point of following up with people
I connected with after a formal event. Mostly, it doesn't progress
further than that one follow up, but on occasion these catch-ups
develop into a wonderful professional or personal relationship. So
the moral is: you never know what will happen. As Sarah says,
networking is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're
going to get!
When we set up Professionelle, we approached networking very
seriously. We attended as many networking events as we could as we
saw them (wisely I might add!) as a way of building our profile and
finding out about what is happening in this space. We also realised
that this was a fantastic way to meet other professional women and
find out what really matters to them and if what we're doing is
actually relevant to them.
After a while, I took stock and discovered that I find some
networking events unpleasant whereas others I really enjoyed. I
systematically looked to see what were the common themes in the
events I liked - was it the speaker? The mix of people? By doing
that, I was able to determine that I'd rather attend some but not
others. I highly recommend you do the same. Networking should be
enjoyable and fun, not a chore. We have enough of those
already!
What's Professionelle's approach to networking?
A while back I met with Dyan Ryall from Xplore in
Australia, a company that works with women in Australia. Xplore offers
highly interactive networking events throughout Australia and she
inspired me to think about why such an approach might work so well
- and about what might work for us.
As we've built Professionelle, Sarah and I have observed several
interesting - and unexpected - things about women and networking,
ones we haven't read about or heard about elsewhere.
What we can tell you is this: in Professionelle, networking
seminars, you will get to talk about a meaty topic with other women
who are like you.We'll present a brief introduction for half an
hour or less, and you'll get to discuss key questions relating to
the topic and briefly present them back to the group. We'll
ensure you are sitting next to two women you've never met before so
you really get to network.
To find out when the next Professionelle seminar is, simply
visit our events and workshop section and book a sit online!
Hope to see you there!
© Professionelle Ltd 2009