How To Network With a Senior Executive As a Junior

Do you struggle to network with a senior executive as a junior? Do you find it hard to start a conversation without being uncomfortable? If yes, you’re not alone.

Over the years, I have learned that hard work alone is not enough to succeed in business or a job. Relationships contribute significantly to success.

It’s all about the right connections in the business world. Knowing the right person can result in you getting handpicked for incredible opportunities. It could enable you to achieve beyond your dreams.

But it’s easier said than done. Right? Be it a networking event or at your company, you may get nervous around seniors. That’s completely natural. I have been there myself.

In fact, sometimes I see people struggling to find the right way to reach out to me. And when they do, some of them tend to make a mess of it.

One thing to note is that it’s not all dependent on you. How an interaction turns out depends on the senior as well.

Sometimes the senior makes it hard because of their highly intimidating nature. They are naturally so intimidating that they make their juniors uncomfortable.

I have seen many seniors who just fake it. They put on this alpha attitude to come across as the biggest wolf in the pack.

That’s why I make it a point to make my juniors feel it’s easy talking with me. Because people are at their best when they feel confident and comfortable.

I don’t see the point in making them nervous. Or burdening them with unnecessary stress by being difficult to communicate with.

I know you can’t control your seniors and their attitudes. But what you can do is control your approach. First, let’s look at the two approaches that you absolutely must avoid.

Networking With a Senior Executive: What to Avoid

The Wobbly Approach

This is the most common approach that I notice when it comes to communicating with seniors. I know juniors want to be respectful. There’s nothing wrong with it. In fact, you should be respectful.

The problem occurs if you worry too much about being wrong. Sometimes, you can feel so scared of disagreeing with a senior, that you just nod along.

If you’ve done this, you know what I am talking about. You are unable to take a firm stand on anything when you network with a senior. You’re scared of your idea or your point of view, being wrong.

So what usually happens is that you talk around the main point of the discussion. Maybe you provide context around the talking point but never say anything decisive.

You may even continuously look for the senior’s opinion. When they say something about the matter, you just nod your head and agree. Right?

I’ve even seen some people adding a disclaimer to every point they make. They give an opinion and then add “unless you think that’s wrong” at the end of each point.

Now I don’t blame you as a junior-level employee or even as a younger business owner. I understand why it happens. But I can tell you is that this approach will never work out. It could even spoil your reputation.

Now with your immediate boss, you may be able to rectify this approach, moving forward. But with high-level executives in your company or at a networking event, you usually get one chance to make an impression.

And if you’re looking to make an impression you have to be decisive and provide value. If you talk in circles, you convey that you have limited value to bring to the table.

The Aggressive Approach

This is not a common approach. But I see it once in a while. As the younger generation is starting to join the workforce this type of approach has increased. Why is that?

Well, the Millenials are generally more confident than the previous generations. Furthermore, some of them want to appear even more confident than they are.

This approach with a strong attempt to appear competent in front of seniors just ends up being aggressive. How you express your point of view or share information is very important. It doesn’t matter that you’re correct if you present your views in an aggressive manner to your seniors.

Some people do this because they feel that they deserve to be respected by everyone. Moreover, if you’ve taken the wobbly approach for a long time, you could end up adopting this approach.

It happens because you may look to compensate for your previous experiences. You don’t want to be someone who is easily dominated, so you compensate by giving extreme responses.

You become so passionate in your demeanor that you could forget who you’re speaking to. If you follow this approach, you’ll respond badly to constructive feedback or alternate perspectives.

Another version of this approach I see too often is using direct talk to seem casual. If you’re not their friend, then don’t embarrass yourself. 

In other words, if you come on too strong or too friendly, you appear disrespectful and reckless. And you don’t want to appear that way in a meeting with your boss or at a networking event. That beats the purpose entirely.

How To Network With A Senior Executive In Your Company

Let’s look at the right ways to network with a senior when you’re at work. This includes your boss or anyone in the higher management, in a meeting or a conference.

You could adapt the below based on the scenario you’re in:

Get To The Point

The first thing that you should do is not take a lot of time to make your point. You may think providing the context behind your idea is more important. But it’s not.

I see people working their way up to make their point. Why does that happen? It’s because they’re scared that if they don’t provide the justification first, their thought will be rejected.

It could also be because they think the senior would think they haven’t considered all possibilities. That’s just not the right path to take.

You should start with your main points when you network with a senior. And not begin with explanations. This way you’re not forcing him/her to listen to a bunch of justifications first.

Let’s say you think your company should cancel an initiative. You could say, “I think we shouldn’t do this. The investment of time and money is not giving sufficient returns.”

This way you just got to the point first. After that, you gave a short context. It’s only then should you get into further reasoning and explanation.

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