Strategies To Boost Your Visibility At Work When You Hate Networking

I’m always on the lookout for articles about networking. Here are a few snippets:

As an executive coach, I’ve had my share of difficult conversations with clients who’d received feedback that advancement to the next level was out of the question, unless… The stumbling block? They had to increase their visibility in the organisation and engage more with colleagues in key decision-making roles outside of their operational network.

You might see networking for professional advancement as an imposition on your time and the time of others. Or it could be that you wrinkle your nose at what you consider politicking to the point where it triggers your desire for a shower—a reaction a Harvard study purportedly found among those who regarded networking as dirty.

But organisational visibility is critical if you want to make a substantive impact at work and reap the rewards to go with it. You may also be missing the bigger picture.

Why do companies want their top talent and future leaders to rub elbows with other high-potential colleagues and influencers across the organisation? An often-unarticulated reason has to do with the bottom line.

It’s called social capital, which refers to the networks, relationships, and the cultural climate that socially active employees create, to execute work effectively, learn from each other, innovate, and advance in their careers. Corporate leaders recognise that when individuals, teams and business leaders build trust among each other, employee engagement, productivity, and organisational performance go up.

Which is why a lack of effort in networking can make you stand out like a sore thumb among your more active colleagues—as well as stand between you and your next career-boosting assignment.

To help put some oomph into your networking efforts and generate the necessary momentum to get started, I’ll share strategies you can use to make yourself more visible in your organisation.

Ask Your Manager for Support

When everyone is busy, it can be difficult to know where to start, or even to muster the energy and motivation to approach colleagues you normally wouldn’t talk to. Begin by asking your manager to help you create a stakeholder map—a visual representation of who’s who in your organisation and the roles they inhabit. Together, you can identify those colleagues and leaders with whom you should start engaging more to forge mutually beneficial connections and relationships.

Your manager will likely have important insights into the needs and interests of some of these key stakeholders and will be able to fill in the gaps in your knowledge of how you can be of value to them and vice versa.

Discuss how your manager might create opportunities for employees to interact and form relationships across teams. Ask if they can make introductions, leverage their personal networks or help facilitate access to the networks and relationships you are looking to build.

Let your manager know what you need in terms of time, resources and skills that can help you build and maintain the networks and relationships that add to the critically important social capital of the organisation.

Change Yor Mindset

When networking feels like a waste of time or overly political, you are unlikely to engage in it consistently enough to the extent that it will have a real impact on your career and your organisation’s overall success.

A mindset shift is required. What if you reconsidered the ritualistic gladhanding and political self-promotion you associate with internal networking and saw it as selflessness? What if you reframed it as an act of giving rather than receiving?

Research on employee engagement shows that intentional networking breaks down organisational silos and improves understanding of company operations across teams and business units. It increases productivity among integrated teams. It facilitates collaboration and knowledge sharing. It enables high performers to share their expertise and act as informal mentors and thought leaders throughout the organisation.

Networking also allows you to pitch innovative ideas to key stakeholders across your organisation and to gain support for implementing them. In short, your networking efforts can contribute directly to the organisation’s bottom line.

You don’t need to view networking as simply a self-serving activity that gets you ahead at work. Broaden your horison to consider all the ways you can contribute value to the organisation by proactively engaging with others outside of your operational network. If you do this, you might just be more inclined to engage in networking.

Bring Play to Work

Rigid compartmentalisation between work and leisure is hard to achieve and can be a barrier to professional and personal fulfillment. You are a whole person whose network and interests extend beyond the work you do.

Indulge your passion, whether it be sports, a book club or a walking group and look for kindred spirits. Leverage those experiences to build deeper connections with colleagues and potential mentors. Sharing your interests and what excites you outside of work allows others to see you as a well-rounded individual, fostering rapport and trust. Ask your colleagues how they recharge, and over time you will see your professional relationships grow stronger and your conversations more personal.

This will also allow you to showcase your unique personality and skills. Your hobbies often reveal talents, dedication, and qualities that may be valuable in the workplace, such as creativity, perseverance, or leadership. You’ll likely find that this makes you more memorable to colleagues you rarely interact with and highlights your potential for other opportunities.

For those who are shy and unsure about how to break the ice, this strategy can provide conversation starters and common ground. Finding shared interests often creates an instant connection point and natural flow of conversation. Moreover, it allows you to demonstrate your passion and drive, which may not always be on display when your head is down as you work to get the job done.

Want to know more? Head on over to the full article here for more ideas and perspectives. Afterwards, why not drop me an email to share your thoughts at [email protected]; or call me on 0467 749 378.

Thanks,

Robert