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20 Qolden rules for creatinQ a powerful network

1. Use networking as an important part of your personal development. 2. Map out your current network. 3. Develop a broad network of people who can support you in different ways. 4. Avoid networking with people who drain you of energy. 5. Understand your personal networking style. 6. Find ways to make connections with people for your networks quickly. 7. Use different media to keep in touch with your network. 8. Try to get on people's wavelengths as quickly as possible. 9. Be open about your own goals and aspirations. 10. Understand other people's goals and interests before focusing on your own. 11. Build long-term relationships based on mutual understanding. 12. Become an interesting conversationalist. 13. Become image conscious without becoming vain. 14. Return favours. 15.Always follow up meetings. 16. Get out more. 17. Keep a good recording system for your network. 18. Be bold in approaching people whom you want to meet. 19. Do research before meeting new networkers. 20. Network more when you don't need to.

Networking

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My support network

Who do you go to when you want? Some sympathy Someone I can always rely on Honest feedback Someone who makes me feel competent and valued Enjoyment - a good laugh To moan A catalyst, to help me take some action Someone I can share good news and good feelings with Practical help Someone who is a valuable source of information A hug, or cuddle, or touch Someone who introduces me to new ideas, new interests, new people

Does anyone figure repeatedly on your list? Are you lading too much on them?

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What are the features of a good network?

Good network should comprise:

Gatekeepers - people who have a wide variety of contacts and who can give you access to other people or organisations Business finders - who can help you identify jobs or business opportunities Mentors - who will give you advice, support and feedback Soul mates - whose company you enjoy and who give you support and encouragement Role models - who have done what you are thinking of doing and may be prepared to give you advice and guidance Influencers - with authority and seniority who have the clout to make things happen for you and to introduce you to a network at a higher level Coaches - bosses from whom you can learn specific skills and who are enthusiastic delegators Catalysts - who make you think creatively and who give you access to new ideas Complementary partners - with different sets of technical and personal skills to yours and who work together to develop a new service for your business Proteges - who are on their way up in your business, having new ideas and fresh perspectives Provocateurs - who can provoke and stimulate you to look at things in a different way

A good network should not comprise:

Stress carriers - people who drain you of energy and optimism Cynics - people who tell you that a thing can't be done when what they mean is that they could not do it Competitors - people who may have very similar aspirations and who might block your own plans in order to further their own ambitions

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The people who make orQanisations QO - or stoQ

Managers invariably use their personal contacts when they need to, say, meet an impossible deadline, get advice on a strategic decision or learn the truth about a new boss. Over the past five years in fifty large organisations we've identified four common role plays: Central connectors, who link most people in an informal network with one another. They know who can provide critical information or expertise that the entire network draws on to get work done. The boundary spanners connect an informal network with other parts of the company or similar networks in the organisations. Information brokers keep the different subgroups in an informal network together. If they didn't communicate across the subgroups, the network as a whole would splinter into smaller, less-effective segments. Peripheral specialists who anyone in the informal network turn to for a specialised' expertise. The first step in managing informal networks is to bring them into the open with a technique called social network analysis, a graphical tool that maps out the relationships in an organisation. The central connector The first person to notice is the person everyone in the group talks to the most. Each of these central connectors spend an hour or more every day helping the other people in the group. But while their colleagues readily acknowledged the connector's importance their efforts were not recognised, let alone rewarded by the company. Therefore it's important to explicitly recognise the connectors. But longer term companies need to reward the good citizenship of their connectors. For example each time someone went out of his or her way to introduce colleagues in trouble to those who could help solve the problem, the connector was nominated for a cash reward and the effort was publicly acknowledged. The most successful connectors (those who greatly improve employee communications, for instance) were awarded bigger bonuses than other managers were - a major departure from the schemes most investment bank follow, in which the managers who create the most profits get the bigger bonuses.

The boundary spanner Roving ambassadors are people who serve as the group's eyes and ears in the wider world. They communicate with people in other departments within a company, at different satellite offices and even in other organisations. When mapped the R&D department at a leading consumer - products company, we found that just 4 of the 36 researchers in the group maintained links with academics in their fields. These four boundary spanners were the sole sources of crucial knowledge for the entire team. Most people don't have the breadth of intellectual expertise, the wealth of social contacts, and the personality traits necessary to be accepted by vastly different groups. Senior executives can use network maps to check if their boundary spanners are making the right connections - particularly with central connectors in other groups. The information broker In the informal networks you may find people who connect the various sub-networks in the company. Without these information brokers, the network as a whole wouldn't exist. They playa role similar to that of boundary spanners, only they do it within the social network. They are characterised by a wealth of indirect connections. At one electronics company, for example, we identified eight information brokers in a community of practice of 120 people. They were allowed to spend 20% of their time supporting the network and were officially designated as the go-to people in their areas of expertise - electronics and various kinds of engineering. When the analysis was originally conducted, the members of the work community were, on average, four removes from one another. After the interventions, almost all the employees were only two links from one another - a degree of connectivity that greatly improved information sharing in the group. The peripheral specialist Large or small, every informal network has its outsiders. Although they operate on the periphery, these people playa vital role in the network by serving as experts. They possess specific kinds of information or technical knowledge - for instance, research data, or software skills, or customer preferences - that they may pass on the other members of the group whenever it is needed. To be sure, many peripheral specialists could contribute more if they were tightly integrated in the informal network but they are intentionally on the edge of a network. Integrating peripheral specialists may distract them from staying ahead in their fields; they can't stay on top of what they want to do if they are forced to sit on committee.s.

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