Description
Networking is a social activity where you meet new people and create new relationships that can benefit you both professionally and personally. For example, networking can introduce you to new professional contacts for business development purposes.
Possible Benefits
- May improve productivity
- May help you create business opportunities
- May boost confidence
- May improve mood
- May improve motivation
- May enhance focus
How to Do It
Attend events or meetings on topics that interest you or are relevant to your business.
Join recognized online communities with people who share your interests.
The important thing is that you INTERACT with other people, share your ideas, ask questions, and create new opportunities.
Why it works
- Professional success depends to some degree on the ability to create productive relationships with the right people.
- It helps to develop a "promotion mindset", including abilities to be open, authentic, and skillful in seeking out new opportunities.
- By creating new relationships, one can acquire knowledge and skills to grow professionally and in business.
Time Commitment
1-2 hours
Suggested Frequency
Once per week
Time of Day
Any
Possible Side Effects
It can lead to frustration and/or feelings of discomfort. For those who are introverted, it could generate tension and anxiety.
Tips
- Focus on new things you could learn
- Try to build relationships based on common interests or goals
- Identify everything you have to offer and focus on it. These can be skills, knowledge, ideas, etc.
- Use appropriate and professional language
- Try to learn from the most successful people in the field you are interested in
- Remember that authority is not the only source of influence
Supporting Studies and Articles
Expand Collapse- Learn to Love Networking. https://hbr.org/2016/05/learn-to-love-networking
- Influence Without Authority. https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Allan-R-Cohen/dp/0471463302
- The Contaminating Effects of Building Instrumental Ties: How Networking Can Make Us Feel Dirty. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/55dcde36e4b0df55a96ab220/t/55e86ab6e4b01fadae0024b5/1441295030249/Casciaro+Gino+Kouchaki+ASQ+2014.pdf
- How to Build Your Network. https://hbr.org/2005/12/how-to-build-your-network
- Affective Primacy in Intraorganizational Task Networks. https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/orsc.2014.0939
- The theory and practice of business networking. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S001985011300031X
- A process-based model of network capability development by a start-up firm. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850117308623
- Rediscovering strategic content in ‘strong process’ research on business network innovation. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019850116302759
