making a shortlist of the “who do you know”?
Is our life really defined by the “who do we know”? With our network being the door opener for all future career growth and goal achievements that we foresee for ourselves? Can we presume that there is a direct correlation between our network and goals achieved? Forbes defines the network as an avenue to create long-term relationships with mutual benefits, whilst emphasizing that your network is your key career component.
I have taken the past year to study a selection of very successful business profiles and what I have come to conclude is that they all have one thing in common: a supportive power network, which comprises mentors and advocates.
mentors = “guidance givers” who help to implement certain power moves to achieve a goal
advocates = “supporters” who push and sponsor the completion of a goal
The importance of mentors and advocates is such a pivotal piece of the puzzle in achieving your goal that I am going to address it in an upcoming edition of Monday Minutes. I have teamed up with one of my mentors and we are currently co-creating a special piece for you, so stay tuned – this one is going to hit different!
Today I would like to address the power of the network itself. Keep in mind that:
your network = your goal accelerator
It holds true that we mirror the ones we surround ourselves with! So, if we surround ourselves with successful and positive people, we mirror their habits and ultimately achieve success of our own. On the flipside, if we surround ourselves with mediocracy and negative energy, we may end up not pushing towards what is truly possible for us and get stuck in a downward spiral.
pro tip:
Review your goals monthly by asking yourself:
- Is your network pushing you and inspiring you towards achieving your goal?
- Are they supportive of your goal?
- Are they pushing you to think bigger?
- Do they brainstorm with you on how to achieve your goal?
- Do they positively affirm your vision?
goal enforcers or diminishers?
If the majority of your answers are YES, then you are surrounded by “goal enforcers”. If they are predominantly NO and your network provides you with limiting beliefs such as “this is really hard, this is very stressful, are you sure that you are going to achieve this” – then you are surrounded by “goal diminishers”.
You will want to make sure that when it comes to achieving your goal you are surrounded by a network of positive enforcers who provide you with steps, ideas, and possible challenges when it comes to achieving your goal. Take 3 minutes right now to consider if you are surrounded by goal enforcers or diminishers?
thank you, next!
Always remember that your network is supposed to empower you and provide you with precise action steps on how to “get it done”. Adopt a “thank you, next” mentality, if people are not supporting you in achieving your goal. This means that you are grateful for their feedback, but choose not to act upon it, simply because it does not positively impact your path to achieving your goal.
the network effect
A friend of mine has co-founded a digital investment firm in the USA in 2018, which focuses on spreading financial literacy among millennial. Four young college graduates were seeking to break generational curses and thus turned to extremely successful industry professionals, all to duplicate their winning moves. Today they have developed a sustainable growth strategy based on steps that they have duplicated and as a result they are generating millions in annual sales, making all four founders multi-millionaires - did I mention that they are all younger than 30 years? Their story at the core is truly inspirational because it links back to setting up a strong network by turning to mentors and leaning into the power of duplication.
Surrounding yourself with people whose career you aim to mirror & who challenge you to grow, inevitably sets you up for success!
It all starts with defining your SMART goal, followed by breaking the goal down according to the industry you desire and the network you require. Ideally, your network comprises different mentors for different goals. One thing is important though and that is to identify 3 points of priority that the mentor should help you with when it comes to achieving your goal.
pro tip:
To pinpoint the 3 points of priority:
- Identify lacking skillset: What skills am I currently lacking to achieve my goal?
- Define level of confidence: Where is my confidence on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 = highest)? How can the mentor help me to build confidence?
- Take action: What are current blocking points for me to act? Can the mentor’s expertise help with defining the required action steps to achieve my goal?
A smart goal can easily be achieved with the guidance of a mentor. It is pivotal though to utilize the mentor accordingly. Thus, finding the right mentor requires you to consider the industry and the network that you are eyeing to achieve your goal.
pro tip:
Look at your current network to identify possible mentors. Take 5 minutes to write down all the names that come to your mind when thinking of the 3 points of priority. Afterwards, cluster the names by adding them in the columns shown in the shortlist framework, which is outlined below.
You may quickly realize that most names fall within the direct contacts of the shortlist framework which is a great set up for finding a mentor. Nonetheless, the magic happens in the remaining 30% of the framework (the indirect + stretch contacts).The remaining 30% of the framework are the ones that allow you to really
think big and to push you out of your comfort zone when it comes to achieving your goal.
From my experience when working with indirect and stretch contacts I have adapted:
New execution techniques
Different power of persuasion
External perspectives
New ways of articulation
Innovative train of thoughts
Now you may ask yourself, how can you get in touch with the remaining 30% of contacts? The most important thing when reaching out to someone is to provide value: Think of anything that you know or read that the mentor you are eyeing may not be an expert in, for instance if you are a millennial think of digital trends that you can share - due to your age you may be more Tik Tok savvy than the mentor.
Firstly, for indirect contacts, these contacts are easiest introduced by the direct contacts. Thus, utilize your 1st degree contacts or try reaching out by providing value.
Secondly, the stretch contacts are supposed to be very influential industry experts who you predominately monitor and observe. You are learning by consuming online content such as the individual’s own channels (Instagram, website, Linkedin shares), their public speaking engagements (found on Youtube, Ted Talk) and their interviews. This is a distant learning approach that allows you to adapt knowledge from leading global experts. To be honest, I dedicate a large amount of my time to studying stretch contacts, for instance I closely study Bozoma Saint John’s career path (Global CMO of Netflix) by consuming all of her online content.
tap your killer-performance self on the shoulder
We have set you up with a list of contacts who could be a possible mentor for you! Now, we are going to take things one step further in next week’s minutes, when we start to analyze the mentor you are seeking to approach in detail!
Monday Minutes are my personal & independent reflections for inspirational purposes only. They are not professional career advice, they simply outline my experience & advice that has been shared with me and helped me personally.