8-20-10 Links to the Past

Continuing to re-visit comments from my survey participants……

I ran across one comment that I both agree and disagree with. Strange, but true.

When I asked my survey participants to tell me what one thing they wished they had known when they became an executive, I got this comment.

“The importance of networking. Once at the executive level, the direct links to getting tactical tasks are broken. You have to know who to go to and how to work as a team.”

Of course, we know from the Executive Skills and Traits model that networking is an important part of the communication skill set (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model and 1-4-10 Let’s Talk). So you can imagine that I agree with the importance of networking. I also agree with the idea that you have to know who to go to and also how to work as a team.

Where my survey participant and I diverge in opinion is on the idea that when you get promoted, the direct links are broken. In fact, I heartily disagree with him. My belief is that unless you royally piss off a member of your network, you never actually lose or break the link to him/her.

Yes, some members of your network might go “dormant”, for lack of a better word. That is just human nature. As we move on to new phases of our lives, there are some members of our network that we will see or talk to less frequently. The time between contacts will lengthen. And the conversation, we when do meet, can be stilted because of the lack of use. Dormancy, however, doesn’t mean the link is permanently severed.

What is does mean is that you haven’t done a good job of tending to your network. This is one task that you should deliberately schedule. Make time to call or see people that were an important part of your past. Some will think it a waste of time, but you never know what might come of this. You might pick up new ideas for a product or service. You might find that you can do your contact a favor in his/her current career stage. Or you might find that he/she is in a position to help you.

And after all, isn’t that what networks are for?

Cheers!