What do you do if your leadership network isn't generating new business opportunities?

Every business opportunity is about relationships. Has it gone stale? Have you been contributing to it? Have you given before you ask? Leads are a result of trust and connection, not just expertise. Over the last 20 years, I have seen and experienced, opportunities arise out of nowhere, when I have truly started to give, understand and help others. That's equally true for your leadership network. So do these 3 things: - Revitalize - Listen - Help See opportunities knock on the door.

Choose quality over quantity. Engage with the right person. Try to make better connections . Make connections wisely like considering their areas of interest, their experience, their networks, skills etc. This could help you broaden your horizon. Choose people who support you and stand with you every time. If possible remove negative people.

Networking is undeniably crucial for generating opportunities in business. However, if your leadership networking efforts are not yielding business opportunities, it's essential to reassess your approach. This could involve refining your networking strategy, identifying and engaging with the right connections, focusing on building genuine relationships rather than merely transactional interactions, and actively seeking out opportunities to add value to others. Additionally, it may be beneficial to broaden your network by exploring different platforms and communities relevant to your industry or interests.

If your leadership network isn't generating new business opportunities, consider the following steps to address the situation: Evaluate & Expand Your Network: Assess the composition of your network. Are you connected with individuals who have the potential to generate business opportunities? Consider whether your network includes a diverse range of professionals from relevant industries or sectors. Actively seek out opportunities to expand your network by attending industry events, joining professional associations, participating in networking groups, and leveraging online platforms such as LinkedIn. Focus on building relationships with individuals who have the potential to provide valuable business leads or referrals.

Leadership Network Audit Time Evaluate Connections:Are they acquaintances, past colleagues, or decision-makers? Mutually Beneficial?Can you offer value in return for introductions or opportunities? Single Shot?Have you nurtured relationships and provided consistent support? ActionPlan for Growth Strategic Connections:Target leaders who can directly influence buying decisions. Value Exchange:Offer expertise, introductions or support to build stronger relationships Be Persistent(kindly):Building trust takes time, follow up thoughtfully without being pushy If all else fails,expand your network! Look for industry events,online communities and targeted outreach to build a network that fuels business growth.#LeadershipNetwork #BusinessDevelopment

Absolutely! I found that networking through creating valuable content, such as articles, blog posts, and presentations, was incredibly effective. By sharing insights, expertise, and thought leadership in my field, I was able to attract like-minded professionals who appreciated the depth of my knowledge and perspective. This approach not only helped me expand my network but also fostered meaningful connections based on shared interests and mutual respect. Additionally, it positioned me as a credible authority in my industry, opening doors to new opportunities and collaborations. Remember, providing valuable content is a powerful way to network authentically and build relationships that can propel your career forward.

Focus on building deeper, more meaningful relationships within your network rather than just expanding your contacts. Provide value to others by offering insights, resources, or support. Attend industry events, participate in networking groups, and stay active on professional platforms to increase visibility and engagement. Look for ways to collaborate or partner with others in your network to create mutually beneficial opportunities.

Prioritize the work you do around revitalizing your connections. Make sure that you start with those connections that can support your goals, can accelerate your journey to meeting these goals. The best way to revitalize or establish a new connection, will be to make it about them, to provide them value, to help them be successful, to learn about them.

I have found that during one's career the leadership network archetype should change with career maturity, if you change the economic vertical you work in, you have to maintain ties with leaders in this domain, someone working with Government entities should maintain a leadership circle different from someone in Healthcare there well always be interconnections, you should have a selective iterative mindset. Lesson learned from a close friend, he told me (just yesterday BTW), he filters his contacts regularly and keeps sincere connections and he always makes sure that he is offering value to others in order to expect value in return

Understand the challenges and reevaluate your network and align them with your business objectives. Enhance communication with all the stakeholders and add value as a leader.

Expand your networking efforts by attending industry events, conferences, and networking mixers, joining professional associations, and maintaining consistent communication with network contacts. This will help you stay top-of-mind, share updates, and nurture relationships over time, thereby expanding your influence.

I agree. Based on my experience working either in academics and in corporation, sometimes the missing link that you need is on the other end of the horizon. Many projects that I'm working on in the university comes from my network in corporation and vice versa. Dont limit our circle and always try to approach and meet new people with open and clear mind.

If the network you have is not aligned with reaching your defined goals, then you need to be ready to look for new connections. Target the connections that are high quality over quantity. The reason is that it will take effort and time to cultivate and develop these relationships so it's best to invest in a smaller number of people that have more impact on your future than on 1000's of connections that may not have impact on reaching your goals.

Step out of your comfort zone and diversify your network. Attend conferences, join new online forums, or volunteer for causes that matter to you. Each new person you meet brings a unique perspective and potentially, a gateway to new opportunities. Embrace the digital age by leveraging social media platforms to connect with leaders and influencers outside your immediate circle. Remember, expanding your horizons is about building bridges, not just collecting contacts. Be curious, be open, and most importantly, be genuine in your interactions.

Industry events, professional organizations, and online forums provide valuable platforms to connect with diverse professionals who may offer unique insights or collaboration prospects. Actively engage in conversations, share your expertise, and seek common ground to establish meaningful connections that can potentially lead to new business opportunities.

Reconsider why you network. If you understand the goal of networking as connecting other people who can help each other - being a bridge - then it changes your approach. You become the valued intermediary. Business opportunities will flow from your network, but not if that's your focus. Add value. Make others more successful. Be seen as the person who can make a difference. Network to be valuable, not to drive business value.

This is kind of repetitive, but with both new connections and when trying to revitalize existing ones, you have to start the relationship by providing value to the other person. You have to understand their needs, what they are trying to solve, how they make a living, how they measure success. It's through this "customer obsession" that you will be able to deliver content, advice, services or even connections that provide value to them when/where they need it.

I believe in abundance. Very few things in life are pie. Except, well, actual pie. So, when I’m not where I might think I am currently supposed to be, I look at what I should be giving. The gratitude that I should be displaying. The connections that I should be deepening. I have no desire to be a mile wide and a millimeter deep with hundreds of people. Well, I know that business has an inherently transactional component, relationships. Do not need to be built in that foundation, in my opinion. They can be built upon trust and alignment. I choose a much narrower network that is profoundly deep. I choose richness, and that brings about gratitude and, ultimately, the opportunity to be of service. It’s not pie; it’s abundance.

Be a knowledge curator: Don't just share what you know, curate valuable resources like articles, reports, or industry trends relevant to your network's interests. This positions you as a thought leader and saves them time. Personalized connections: Look for opportunities to connect your network members with each other based on shared interests or needs. This fosters deeper relationships within your network and strengthens your role as a connector. Go beyond the obvious: Offering value isn't limited to professional settings. Share relevant articles, event invitations, or even birthday wishes. These small gestures show you care and build stronger personal connections.

When we are working on to something which is useful for others and adding some productivity in someone life, Then chances are very high to Become successful leader top-of-mind. For that we need to identity it's really our product or services is adding any value is someone life or not and most of the business fail here.

A strand of hair just beneath your eyes remains unseen without the aid of a mirror, despite its proximity. Our closest companion is, paradoxically, ourselves, yet we require the reflections by others to truly understand ourselves. This is beautifully encapsulated in the wisdom by our Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, a believer acts as a mirror to their fellow believer. Embracing feedback allows us to perceive the impact of our actions rather than merely our intentions. Employing SBI (Situation-Behavior-Impact) model can greatly enhance feedback constructiveness. It involves articulating the specific Situation in which the behavior occurred, describing the observable Behavior, and then discussing its Impact on yourself or others.

Host Networking Events: Consider organizing networking events tailored to your industry or niche. These events provide a platform for you to bring together like-minded professionals, fostering connections and collaboration. Personalize the experience by inviting individuals you believe would benefit from meeting each other. By taking the initiative to host such events, you position yourself as a facilitator of valuable networking opportunities. For example, as a marketing consultant, I organize quarterly meetups where industry professionals can exchange ideas and explore potential collaborations.

Actively seeking feedback positions you as a leader who values continuous improvement and fosters meaningful connections. To enhance network effectiveness, seek feedback from trusted contacts, such as colleagues, mentors, or peers. Ask for candid feedback on interactions and adjust your approach accordingly. Conduct a perception check to understand your approachability and reliability. Encourage honest opinions on areas for improvement, such as communication patterns or blind spots. Use constructive feedback to align your approach with network needs and expectations.

In my opinion, this is often the quickest and most accurate method to improve our communication skills. Not only do we become more self-aware of our communication strengths, we can gain more knowledge of our communication areas of improvement through the blind spots observed by people around us. Another good model to consider is the Johari window, in which you and your team can adopt this coaching model to develop better self and team awareness in improving interpersonal and small-group communication.

Ask for feedback from your network on how you can improve your network's effectiveness in generating business opportunities. Listen to their suggestions and implement changes accordingly.

If you have established a clear networking strategy, that directly supports your career strategy, then it's important to review and adjust it from time to time. Remember that you organization is changing, your customer needs are evolving, and your competition (other people) are always taking actions... so your career strategy and networking strategy need to adjust to assure they are executed successfully.

There is no one single strategy to get sucess. If one approach fails, there needs an another improved strategy from the experience gained from the failure. Seek the support from strategist to improve/adjust the current strategy. Get opinion from the team for failure. Perform root cause analysis and tune the strategy as corrective action.

Strategy: shall be in line with our organisation's vision and mission. It is important that strategy may be monitored and periodically reviewed/upgraded: transformational kind of strategies are mostly desired in current rapidly changing customer requirements and very competitive markets.

Thinking about not always “taking” and starting to think about “giving back” to your leadership network is a strategy that can be adopted. It not only helps position you as collaborative but also helps the network/mentor gain something out of the evolving relationship. Giving back could be in form on a new connection or share a valuable insight/trend that could benefit them and can ultimately help position you for potential opportunities that network could bring on the table in future. Be as transparent as you can be around your potential future interests and do not hesitate to request your network to introduce you to connections you may benefit from. Help your leadership network expand their network & opportunities will come your way.

Taking Action towards Achievement might be you fail100 of times. But your failure will teach you are going wrong path & go from this way the here Strategy develops. Develop your Strategy and keep on moving is only way to be Successful.

Stand for something...a cause...a viewpoint that you genuinely believe in and don't be shy to let others know about it....in other words, create your brand and don't be too safe or average...people don't notice the "average"!

I disagree with the premise that something is wrong if a leadership network isn’t delivering a constant stream of business opportunities. Like all things in life, there is an ebb and flow to networking and business development efforts. Staying engaged with your network, looking to provide value to others, and consistently demonstrating your competency will generate opportunity over time. Fixating on short term results or always looking to receive handouts from others will likely disappoint.

Be clear on what you stand on and what you believe in. When you are in business you need to ensure that what you do and how you serve others is clear and articulated in a way that is easily understood. When networking, looking for advocates of your work rather than buyers provides better success and rewards. The givers gain philosophy aims to orientate you on the fact that when networking seeking to serve your network rather than sell to it provides dividends. So, to wrap up if networking is not working for you consider: - have a clear proposition - articulate it well - network for advocates - givers gain

Stop viewing your leadership network as a way of generating new business opportunities! If you view your network that way you'll probably behave in ways that cause people to disengage. Noone attends a netowrking event to be pitched to. Well few do! INSTEAD View your network as a way to meet some people you can get to know, like and trust. And people with whom you can share experiences and learn from each other so that you both gain... That won't be everyone. In time they will become your network. A source of tips; shortcuts to help each other save money and time and deadends that could waste it. And then a mutual source of introductions. When you or they meet someone there is the confidence to introduce a known friend.

Start with your potential customers - Be curious and deeply understand their experience at work, their needs, what they value including their pain points and pleasure points. Your business opportunities should be connected to these insights. Design and deliver everything with your customers at the centre. Review and tweak regularly. And make sure it all lines up with your expertise and purpose.