Having just come off a week at a trade association event, we thought it fitting to discuss the ever-important subject of networking.
If you ask anyone about networking these days, they’ll give you their opinion. Universally people see the need and purpose for networking but not everyone sees it the same way. In fact, there are at least 3 different types of networking and each has a different purpose.
- Social Networking: The first type of networking is social networking and it is the most commonly known form of networking. This is networking for social reasons. In addition to events such as Business-After-Hours or other face-to-face gatherings, Facebook and Instagram are examples of electronic versions of social networking. But the process did not begin there. People have been engaged in social networking for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. This type of networking is embraced by those that are highly people-oriented. They love the opportunity to connect and build relationships with people. Those that are more task-oriented often look at social networking as frivolous and/or a waste of time. They tend to prefer the next type of networking, operational networking.
- Operational Networking: Here, rather than networking with friends and acquaintances we network with people who can help us get things done. The more relational, people-oriented types often look at this process as manipulative while those that are very task-oriented see this as the best way to achieve their goals.
- Strategic Networking: Strategic Networking provides an opportunity to connect with others who can be of assistance in the realm of personal and/or organizational goals. It can help a person further his or her career or help a company connect to new customers, suppliers, employees, managers and decision makers. The people that are most likely to take advantage of strategic networking are those that are process-oriented. The more task-oriented and people-oriented types will see this as being self-serving and shallow. Process-oriented types often have difficulty understanding why those that are people-oriented and task-oriented don’t see the big picture that is so clear to them.
The most successful use all three.
The truth regarding networking is that highly successful people know how to use all three. They move from one to another seamlessly and with relative ease. But, they most likely did not start out that way. Chances are that these highly successful people started out preferring one of the three types; even to the point of being biased against the other types.
We all need to be aware of our biases with respect to these networking types and then begin to embrace the other types as being valuable. Some will say, I can see how the other types can be useful, but they just seem to be wrong for me (or don’t feel right). If you want to be truly successful, embracing all three can increase your probability of success, personal development, and growth.
Practice steps for the week:
Step One: What kind of networker are you? Identify which type is your preference.
Step Two: Once you have identified what your natural bias is, identify the other area(s) that you need to add to your networking toolbox.
Step Three: Determine where and when you will start to incorporate the networking areas and the outcome you are looking for.