Where do you go when you have a boss or manager that doesn't get what you do?

For most of us, we do the best we can. We read, we learn, we educate ourselves to become the best in our fields. Continuously we're improving, soaking in excellence around us, looking to spit it back out so we can move up that ladder, but what happens when you get to the top of the so-called "ladder?"

I'm talking about moving into leadership, management or the elusive C-Suite. When you're the Chief Analytics Officer, the Chief Data Officer, the Chief Customer Officer or even the Chief Learning Officer, you've now been recognized as the "leader" in your company in that segment. You are responsible for decisions that can drive the company forward OR move the company backwards with as much as one decision, and it's exciting to have that much power - but also overwhelmingly scary if you're human.

Your peers judge you and your bosses depend on you. What are the odds your CEO knows as much as you do about "how" to do your job?

So where do you go at that point for best practices or for questions that no one around you in your company can provide genuine answers to?

That's where networking comes in. Having a group of advisers around you that can offer the support and help you need when the going gets rough. Many times it requires a good mix of Executives, C-Suite Officers and Professionals that are like you. Those who are doing the job, but in different companies who can offer different perspectives. Often, it's a combination of those and the account managers of the vendor companies you use to do your job well. Their job is to make you look good so they're usually willing and able to speak if there is an issue they can help solve. All too often I found myself with a system I didn't fully understand - or one that had functionality I was unaware of until I talked with my account manager so don't just treat them like salespeople! They can add real value to your organization.

The bigger question is, where do you go to find this network? Events like the Corinium Global Intelligence "X" series are designed with this in mind. They're designed to give senior executives the opportunity to network exclusively with the top professionals and solution providers in the field. It offers educational content from the best of the best.

There are even meetings set up with vendors that can be used to do two things: 1) Find out what is latest technology that may give you the wheels you need to get initiatives rolling and 2) Give you the peace of mind that the solutions you're currently using are doing what they should be doing. It doesn't have to be uncomfortable. If you're a leader in your company and you're not keeping your ears open for new opportunities to improve current processes, chances are you're not going to keep your job very long because someone else will come in with a revolutionary idea that will blow you out of the water.

Think about where you can go to build this network, answer the tough questions and ensure that you're performing at the level that got you there in the first place!

For more information on Corinium Global Intelligence, visit www.coriniumintelligence.com.

For information on our CDAO-X Forum, visit https://www.coriniumintelligence.com/cdaox.

NOTE: These views are my own and not those of Corinium Global Intelligence.