If a single individual can do ‘good’, two can do ‘better’! Come on! This is the year of networking. What you cannot do alone, you can accomplish by networking with others.
Networking is all about working with people. Hence you may experience some ups and downs here and there in the process. However, once you learn the art of networking, things become easier and more beneficial than before.
As mentioned earlier, networking is a smart way to success. There is a compounding effect that evolves through networking. In turn, it creates momentum and more productivity. That is why we must invest time to learn the art of better networking.
Here are five smart ways to network better in any area of your carrier and life.
1. Identify your tribe. Everyone of us like to belong to a particular category of people with regard to our likes, skills and beliefs. Someone with a taste for music likes to hang out with other music lovers. One who likes scientific inventions would love to spend time with others who have a similar taste.
For better networking, you must identify your tribe of people who have similar interests and skills. Spending quality time with the wrong tribe will not help you be productive. In fact, it can even turn out to be counter-productive. Choose your tribe and network with them for better results.
2. Connect with right people. Smart networking doesn’t stop after identifying the right category. In fact, it only begins there! However, the sad fact is, there are many folks who settle down after achieving the first step.
Connecting with the right people from your tribe is essential to success. Why? There may be all sorts of people in your tribe. Though all of you have some interests in common, all may not be beneficial for your growth. Interact with as many as you can. Then carefully choose the right ones who zinc with you and appreciate your success. They will be your cheer leaders.
3. Share resources. Networking is all about sharing. For it to work well, there must be ‘giving and taking’ happening. Even as you ask for participation from others, give them your participation also. Share with them what is good for their development and profit.
4. Reach out to help. One great way to better networking is to be a helping hand to somebody else. Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want!” That’s an amazing yet true statement. Try it and you will be amazed by its results.
5. Do things together. Networking takes on a different higher form when you get together with other tribe members to do a specific project. It may be helping somebody reach his/her goal. It may be volunteering to clean the park in your community. It can be anything which you do as a team. It can be for-profit or non-profit. Doing things together builds up relationships within the team and bring in greater unity and productivity.
If you are serious about networking, these five steps can enable you to make it more fun and profitable.
Image courtesy: sheelamohan/freedigitalphotos.net
© Joe Abraham. www.joeandancy.com. January 14, 2013.
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