Building Strategic Networks—The Key to Career Advancement

As leaders progress and take on broader roles, a significant shift should take place if they want to keep advancing. More senior-level leaders need fewer analytical, task-oriented skills and more relationship-building skills. So if you want to prepare yourself for executive roles and other leadership positions, it’s critical to gain expertise in building strategic networks.

What does this mean? When I talk about strategic networks, I’m not referring to the random type of networking that you might do on LinkedIn or other social media. Many women naturally have a lot of friends and relationships in their life, but when I ask whether they have strategic relationships, they sometimes flinch at the term. Why? Because they think the word “strategic” means that these relationships are manipulative, impersonal, or self-serving.

In our coaching and development programs for women leaders, we emphasize the importance of the “why” and “how” for building strong and supportive relationships. Here are a few:

• What got you here won’t get you there.
• You need to build expertise early, but use it to work through other people as you rise in your organization and industry.
• Hard work and results will only get you so far — you need a network to amplify your work and advocate for you when you’re not in the room.
• Your strategic network means the difference between you having to push and sell yourself for the next job or promotion, and people pulling for you in that new job and promotion.

 

When leveraged appropriately, though, strategic relationships aren’t one-sided at all, and aren’t formed to help only one of the people in the relationship. Instead, strategic relationships and strategic networks are mutually beneficial and provide both parties with opportunities to learn, grow, advance in their careers, and bring greater value to others around them.

Here are some tips on how to build effective strategic relationships that can help you advance in your career while benefitting your network as well:

Form Your “Board of Directors”

Just as companies rely on a board of directors to advise them on decision-making and support the organization, leaders and those who aspire to leadership positions also should form their own “board of directors” for career support and guidance. There’s room on your board of directors for different types of relationships, and I suggest that women leaders incorporate three types of networks into their board:

• Operational network: people who can help you do your job and manage your internal responsibilities. These people could include your direct manager or other experts in the skillset you want to grow into.

 

• Personal network: People who help you learn and develop in your profession and personal aspirations beyond your day-to-day work. These people can be within or outside your organization, including those in professional associations.

 

• Strategic network: People who have broader business perspectives and contacts that can help you better achieve both personal and organizational goals — now and in the future. These might be senior leaders or executives with broader visibility of trends and strategic goals of the organization and industry.

 

Move Out of “Heads Down” Mindset

Early in your career, it’s particularly important to mind the details operationally, which helps prove your skill and competence. But once you begin rising through the ranks, other goals should take center stage, particularly to enhance your brand and build a stronger sphere of influence.

In my experience in executive coaching and women’s leadership, I’ve identified one area where women often fall short. Many women have a tendency to keep their head down and continue making sure they’re doing perfect work in every aspect of their role, even as they reach higher levels in their career. They underestimate how important the right relationships can be in getting ahead, getting initiatives done, and accomplishing objectives.

How well executives manage their relationships directly determines how successful a company will be and how effective they will be as leaders. Having an integrated and diverse network of people is a smart and practical way to balance and develop relationships at any career stage. What’s key here, though, is ensuring that you don’t include only people who can help you with your current day-to-day job or with general professional development. Instead, by including people in your network who offer a broader business perspective, you can set yourself up to be a better leader and pave the way to future success.

 

Kickstart Your Strategic Network Building

If you want to get started today with building your strategic network, I invite you to join our upcoming Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) Program on September 17-18 and October 22-23. In the WILL program, we guide our participants in asking themselves how they view and use their relationships and help them understand how to best grow their strategic networks.

We also provide practices and strategies for cultivating sponsors, which can be a differentiator for women to reach their career goals and aspirations. Don’t underestimate the importance of your concerted effort to seek out and cultivate these relationships!

By the end of the WILL program, you’ll have an Intentional Stakeholder Management Plan to link you to the right people at the right time to give you the right support. WILL not only brings you together with a cohort of other ambitious women, but also provides an opportunity for 1:1 executive coaching within 30-60 days after finishing the program. It isn’t too late to secure your spot. Contact Kate Alves at kavles@shambaughleadership.com to learn more.

If you or your team have advice for women in leadership that you’d like to share or questions you’d like to ask about this topic, please reach out to me at info@shambaughleadership.com.

Link to SHAMBAUGH’s offerings on Executive Coaching,  Leadership Development, Coaching and Development Programs for Women, Keynotes, and Fireside Chats. 

Rebecca Shambaugh is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, Founder of Women in Leadership and Learning, and author of the best-selling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor and Make Room for Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results.

Find out more about us at: www.shambaughleadership.com

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