By Lucy Grimwade
Cultivating great relationships and building your network is your magic key🗝️ to the many doors🚪of your career and its success.
If you have worked in tech for a while, I bet you a fiver you've bumped into someone who you've crossed paths with before. Or at least (probably right now) be working-with-someone-that-knows-someone-that-used-to-work-with-you.
Trust me, I've been there. 🤭
By building a strong network with lasting relationships, you will start to build on your personal brand, gain contacts and gather some great resources resources (books, podcasts, etc).
But, what I will say is that relationships aren't only one way.
Do not become a take-take-taker.
Relationships are about co-creating trust, respect, curiosity and connection.
Make sure you give back.
So, whether you are nurturing the needs of a client, searching for a mentor or building a working relationships with your team - it is essential to your career success to have the ability to leverage your power skills⚡of communication, empathy and enthusiasm to not only become well connected but to future-proof you and your next steps.
So, here are 6 super simple ways you can start to create great relationships which will build and enrich your network.
1.Make it personal:
‘Did you have a good time away in France?’ - Remembering details about someone shows that you have listened, are generally interested and it also makes them feel good. Frame the question so they can simply answer yes or no, but leave them a little wriggle room to expand if they want to. And, if you don’t have an elephant-type memory, then write it down in your notebook, or in a separate meeting invite, right next to the scheduled one. You don’t have to be personal in every interaction, but often enough to start to build the connection.
2.Listen more, speak less:
It is only natural that we want to wade in with an answer, to give advice or to throw our opinions into the mix. However, have you fully grasped what they are asking you? Here are three coaching questions you can use, to gather further information:
· … And what else?
· What do you think you need to do?
· How can I help?
By listening more and understanding your audience, you are starting to build compassion and actually, helping them build towards an answer. This is a great foundation for a reliable and resourceful relationship.
3.Understand your capacity:
Back in my early career, a senior manager taught me the motto of “never over promise then under-deliver.”
It is frustrating and disappointing when you have someone who says YES to everything, to only let you down at the last minute. That behaviour doesn’t spark confidence in another human, thus the likelihood of building a great relationship is perhaps doubtful.
However, someone understanding their capacity and offering a solution will give a great belief, trust and service. By politely saying – ‘Gosh, I don’t have the capacity right now to take that on, however if it isn’t too urgent, I could do that next week/month/year?’ OR ‘I can’t do that right now, however, let me put you in touch with someone who I know has the capacity and will help you.’
Someone who is well-connected is a great ally to have! Make sure that’s you.
4.Always follow up:
As a child, my mum taught me to write a thank you note, after Birthdays, Christmases, parties… (and it is something I still do now).
It is a habit that we can implement into our career worlds. Following up after a meeting, interview, networking event, etc, not only puts your name at the top of the list but also shows a level of aptitude, kindness and interest. It doesn’t have to be war and peace, but a few sentences will suffice.
5.Don’t push your boundaries:
You may have a great relationship with your boss or a business connection, but make sure you read the room. Don’t become a hassle who is constantly messaging and asking questions - (often people do this to just spark up conversations). Learn where the line is, don’t cross it, unless invited over.
6.Share your knowledge:
Being a secret squirrel, is thing of the past. I used to work with someone who was so cryptic, and they never uploaded their documentation to our shared areas. As you can imagine, it didn’t land too well with the team or the business.
People like to be in the know. They like to learn from others. Feed their curiosity.
You can be the judge of the knowledge you want to provide and how much you choose to share. But by giving nothing away, you are closing yourself off, thus, potentially closing career doors.
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