The Great LinkedIn Connection Challenge of 2018

I signed up and created my LinkedIn account in early 2008, give or take. Through industry conferences, meet-ups, personal connections or sheer happenstance, I now have over 1,100 contacts. Closer to 1,200 connections.

Fireworks. Celebrations. 76 trombones on parade, right?

I should feel proud that I have that many connections, that many opportunities to network and expand in the business world. And yet, somehow, I don’t feel that network know-how. Why might that be?

Here’s a potential answer: we really don’t know each other. We are connected. I might follow your activity and vice versa. But we haven’t had a solid conversation on what we do, who we are and where we want to go in this crazy life.

I want to change this. There are 1,100+ people in my LinkedIn network that I would like to know more than a digital representation. Who is the true individual behind the LinkedIn profile?

The goal of this is to build up meaningful conversations and build out true relationships.

In these interactions, I hope to portray myself as just me. Not Megan the marketer. Or Megan the student. Or Megan the digital learn-it-all.

Just Megan Elizabeth Shulby.  

It’s my belief that one-time or transactional exchanges between professionals can provided only partial success. Too often do people connect with the limited-time view of “what can I get out of this?” Such a view does not do the potential power of networking tools like LinkedIn justice.

Expansive success is founded upon lasting relationships and authentic connections. To do that, we truly need to get to know each other.

Through 2018, I am making it this “challenge” a top objective of my professional growth: to reach out and truly connect with people in my network. Whether it is an engaging 10-minute Skype session or coffee at a nearby shop for local connections, I want to learn about those in my network and grow.

I’ve seen people with similar ideas use the hashtag #LinkedInRealConnections for this type of challenge. Let’s see if that catches on.

So, let’s connect and learn about each other, for real.