When is 2 better than 6?

Last week’s post Forget ‘The Strength of Weak Ties’ Build Close Connection, highlighted the importance of developing both loose and strong connections. It evoked a truism, from CEO Showoff Shane Byrne :

“…it’s a pleasure doing business with and hosting good people…”?

Whom and how we conduct ourselves is often as important as what business we do. This week I was focused on co-leading The Impactful Negotiation for Women program, with Lisa ?kesson which as always was a joyful experience.

Between each day of the program it gave me the opportunity to explore my own approach to negotiation further. When expanding my learnings, I knew the value of a provoking question. Getting curious I asked myself:

‘What has been one of the most difficult negotiating processes in recent times’?

The dialogue to secure the Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew is right up there.

Reading Scoops: The BBC's Most Shocking Interviews from Prince Andrew to Steven Seagal?by Sam McAlister is fascinating.

Sam was not only a former stellar producer of Newsnight but also had another key role - guest booker. So was responsible for identifying, connecting with, and securing high calibre guests for the programme.

This is like a sales or business development role in the commercial sector requiring a balancing act of professionalism, persistence, and patience to succeed consistently.

Whilst being interviewed about the book she describes how she adopts a forensic methodology in her approach to securing guests, leaving no stone unturned. LinkedIn proving a rich initial source. She shared a deep conviction that we are all connected to everyone in the world by a maximum of 6 degrees of separation. Yet she has proactively spent the last few decades reducing that number down to 2, so now any potential guest is only 2 degrees away from her.

That is an extra ordinary valuable network insight, to be able to connect with movers and shakers in any field.

This got my mind going into overdrive on how you and I could implement this in our careers within the Payments industry?

Huge honour to have a fascinating conversation with Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly , Head of EMEA Corporate and International Banking for FIS . Thank you, Ben Agnew , for connecting us. Key takeaways:

·???????Make bold career choices. ?

·???????What is said about you when you're not in the room will have a direct impact to what happens outside of the room – that’s why you need sponsors.

·???????When it comes to creating greater, gender opportunity, it's not men versus women. Men can be allies, they're part of the solution. Women have to negotiate for themselves.

My challenge to you is how can you actively reduce the degrees of separation to those who are vital in your career advancement from 6 to 3 or even 2?

My very best wishes in this career future proofing pursuit.

Our purpose at Accelerated Career Results is to transform Payments leaders’ mindsets, confidence, and results. For them to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learning.

We achieve this by unlocking the ‘latent ability’ within talented individuals and teams. If you have found this article valuable, please like, re-share and pass it on to a colleague or to your trusted network whom it could help at this stage of their leadership career.

If you are a decency led leader, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have a challenge and want to work with a trusted partner, to [email protected]