The introvert's network

In another two months, it’ll be two years to the day that I abandoned my desk at our Kings Cross offices and shifted into full time home working. As a self confessed introvert, there were more good things than bad about only seeing your husband and kids all day every day (just please please please: no more homeschool is all I ask).?

From a connection perspective, the virtual-first environment has made it easier for an introvert to communicate in meetings. Everyone, extrovert and introvert alike, has adapted to new rules of digital etiquette, from hand-raising to chat functionality, to online polls and virtual sticky note boards. We have powered ahead with more asynchronous tools to maximise the availability of those who were working more flexibly and weren’t able to get into a room together.?

One major negative that I experienced personally was in maintaining connections beyond my immediate circle of colleagues and project teams. Where were those water cooler moments, pre-meeting preambles and conference drinks going to be replaced virtually? Did I even WANT another moment in front of my screen (answer: nope, not at all). And yet building connections is something fairly important to me and my team, and something that I was determined to work hard at.

Internally to Springer Nature, I did make an effort to maintain informal networking. I made sure to make time for our Springer Nature Women’s network and virtual speaker events run by the FT Women’s forum, both of which have been a great way to keep meeting colleagues internationally and keep learning.

Externally, I attended a number of meetings where the opportunity to network was on offer. But where the real-world me finds conference drinks an energy-sapper, the virtual room was many times more so: I could handle finding one known contact and initiating a conversation, but then the urge to jump offline, head down to the kitchen or to see what the kids were up to was far more appealing.?

In both contexts, the hardest thing for me has been reaching out to make new, unexplored connections: internally with teams I’m not working with, and externally either within the industry or within Marketing more broadly. Although I could use the pandemic, homeschooling and the mental burnout of the past two years as an excuse, I know if I really examine why I’ve made zero progress here is because...it’s just…hard.

So with that, heading into 2022 I decided it was time to investigate ways to be a better introverted networker. I’ve spent some time digging around for tips online, and asking fellow introverts what they do. Although a lot of tips were centred around the in-person gathering and how to maximise your energy to do these effectively, I did gather a few ideas to get me started:

1. Joining up: finding a shared reason with at least one other colleague who wants to establish a new relationship and make a meeting happen jointly, or using an existing connection to extend an introduction within their network.?
2. Utilizing my LinkedIn extended network: start commenting and engaging with conversations, and through this find more shared areas of interest for a deeper connection.?
3. With topics that I am credible on, seek out like-minded contacts who share that interest, and proactively suggest a virtual or physical coffee at events we’ll both attend this year.

That’s a good list to start with and I am confident there are many others that I can add. So, reader: I ask whether you might be interested to explore this with me: do you have other tips you’d be willing to share, or have a shared topic of interest? Let’s (re)connect.?