Making Connections

My current role brings me in contact with a lot of people. I interact with people from telecom, technology, logistics, engineering, sales, manufacturing, and so much more. Some of the people I get to know work for the same company. Many do not.

As someone who has always seen himself as an awkward, introverted technology nerd, I've found it curious that I've had a knack for making connections with people. It served me well in many aspects of my life, professionally and personally, but it rarely helped me advance in my career. Somehow, it was always a battle trying to move forward.

Often I would hitch a ride with a leader, putting in all the effort I could muster, only to be left behind once they moved up. There were exceptions, of course, but they were few, and some of them harmed their own careers while sticking their neck out for mine.

Today, I find myself in a very different place. Somewhere along the line, I went from being the guy in need of help to the guy able to give help.

Today, I try to support excellence where I find it. When I make a connection with someone, I try to really nurture that relationship. I do what I can to earn their trust by leading with trust in kind. We create not only a professional or personal relationship, but a friendship as well.

My goal - the thing that drives me today - is to see people for their strengths and help them find a way to better themselves. I lacked that kind of guidance for many years and I always wondered what would have happened if someone actually saw my value. Today, I find myself trying to find the value in others. I find myself using that knack of making connections with people to serve others before serving myself. I don't even know when I started doing that, but it feels pretty amazing.

Stop trying to better yourself and start trying to lift up those around you. Connect with the people around you, discover and learn about them. See how you might help lift them up, and you'll find yourself lifted as well.

What are you doing with the connections you make?