Being Purposeful & Disciplined Helped Her Land A Board Role.

Liz Levy-Navarro is a former CEO who has also served as a director on corporate boards including Munich Re and AIG.

Be purposeful. For me, six years ago I sought to serve as a for profit board member and knew I needed to expand my network significantly if I were to be successful.?

To do that, I determined I needed to expand my network of board members, professionals that serve them, and executive search professionals.?Then, I had to determine where I could find these professionals and make sure I was “swimming in the same waters” - e.g., join relevant professional associations, actively participate in these associations, and network in an expanding fashion from those I initially met through these associations.

Be disciplined. Purposeful networking takes consistent time and effort, and a good approach.?For me, I made it a point of putting in at least an hour most mornings to reach out via email to those I briefly met at a professional association event, say, or was introduced to through a common contact.?I tried to make a personal connection in the email, and then make a reasonable “ask”, for example, asking them to share with me any guidance or perspective they could offer on either being a board member or how to get on a board.?

And, ideally, through an informal in-person meeting very convenient for them - e.g., a coffee at the lobby of their office, or perhaps a drink after work very near them, or lunch.?Post Covid, videoconference may be what some are more comfortable with, but, it’s not ideal.

Of course, at these networking get togethers, the goal is always to create authentic interactions - listen more than you talk, be curious about them, and find points of common connection.?Enjoy yourself and have fun!?Often, folks are kind and helpful and will proactively offer to introduce you to another helpful contact, or give you a good idea or two.

Then, after each meeting, always thank the person by email, update your contacts with what you learned about them, and make a tickler in your calendar for, say, six months out, to reconnect by email, perhaps just to share an article on something you both discussed, or a success you had that they helped you with.

Some people are naturally gifted at networking; but I believe it is something we can all achieve through being purposeful and disciplined.

#networking #womenonboards #relationshipsmatter