Why should we take the time to be better networkers?

So Why Should You Network? 

The other week I was lucky enough to be sent to Wheeling, West Virginia to join the National Recreation and Park Associations' Revenue Development and Management School. It was generally accepted by the group that at least a portion of the week long seminar was intended for networking and getting to know other successful professionals in the Parks and Recreation industry.

This of course made me think about whether or not the people that paid for us to be there (tax payers) would appreciate that we were there (at least in part) to hang out and get to know one another, often times over food and libations.

In my previous blog post I discussed that fact that networking is a skill. That means that it can be learned and taught to others. It means that you should take a risk on an individual who has little to no networking skill when hiring. I also believe in the notion that networking is a necessary skill in today's business world.

The longer I sat through these education sessions the more that I became convinced that all of this is true.

As a manager (and I don't think it matters whether we talk about public, private or non-profit sector) having the basic networking knowledge and skill sets is incredibly important. A few different situations that came to mind as I learned about generating revenue and reducing costs in the parks and recreation world include:

• Getting recommendations when you are looking for new employees to hire.
• Researching an area or subject with which you are unfamiliar with for a project.
• Getting information about a potential employer before you go on an interview.
• Collecting information about a potential client.
• Obtaining reviews and recommendations when hiring a contractor or consultant.
• Finding colleagues who have already partnered with another agency, service provider or vendor.
• Review results and feedback on a contractor or program provider before you hire them.

Aside from all of these reasons though I heard again and again from my peers how important it was to be able to adapt to the seemingly constant stream of changes in local government.

In other words you need to be able to think on your feet and move quickly when threats or opportunities arise. You need to be able to connect the dots between people, ideas and social situations. You need to be able to make the world a better place. And yes networking does that.

And that is the most important reason to network. By making the right and best hire, by putting the best contractor to work for you, by introducing the next great manufacturer to the next great marketer you might make the world a little better. You will gain credibility by making appropriate introductions. Colleagues will entrust you with information if they know you will use it to aide them. People will naturally gravitate towards you if they know you have a strong network that can support them as well.

If nothing else remember this, networking at its heart is not about you, your rise to the top or the number of LinkedIn connections you obtain. It's all about putting the right people together at the right time. So take a step back, review the how's and now start working on your why's of networking.

Influence as value

My friend Keith says that:

The number one rule of leadership is showing up.

It's not that bad of a rule really when you think about it. Part of being a leader is the ability to identify how people work together, what their needs are, what their skills are, what their challenges are. And then figure out a way to help them achieve their goals. All the while without making it about yourself.


And then I thought about this groundbreaking event I was invited to today. The pictures in the paper were of all these people that were so proud of their accomplishment. They all showed up. They were there and it was recorded in perpetuity by the media. But are they the leaders of the project? Maybe one or two, but definitely not the majority of them. So does the first rule of leadership still apply here? Or are these people that were just trying to create and develop influence? What were they doing there? Who were they helping? Whose goal was being achieved?

Then the other night we finished watching the movie, Atlas Shrugged. The point as far as I can tell is that there is nothing worthwhile that can be bought with influence. It was a terrible movie. I am not a film critic or even a film aficionado but I know bad when I see it...this was bad. But it directly took on the question of what role we allow others to play in the influence in our lives.

So the question is, "If just showing up a lot and being around is a way to become a leader, are you just buying influence by being the last man standing?"

Is that truly leadership? Is that of value? Is influence the same as leadership acumen? Not really sure here but I seem to have a lot of unanswered questions. Maybe next post will answer or maybe this just gets worse.