You are working on building a strong professional network, you are making more contacts in your business environment and nurturing them. You have meaningful conversations with colleagues, meet new people, connect with new acquaintances by sharing ideas, tips, recommendations. You feel empowered as you are well connected with some high profiles. So far, so good. (By the way I hope you follow the tips of my article The Secret about Networking.)
To build a strong professional network, don’t stop here!
All this is great, but this is only the first step in building a strong network that will help you grow. You need more strategy behind your professional network, you need to ensure your connections are varied enough and strong enough to help you grow and develop your potential.
What is the concept of Personal Boardroom and how can it help you build a strong professional network?
The concept is to identify your goal and surround yourself with the right people to support you on your journey. These people cover 12 different profiles to help you grow and succeed.
You need to surround yourself not only with like-minded people. You need good connections who will expand your horizons, who will challenge you, who will make you see things from a different angle.
So pause a moment and imagine you are the CEO of yourself. Who should sit next to you to help you be your best self? To help you define and reach your goals? Who should be in this personal boardroom?
Zella King and Amanda Scott are the co-founders of the Personal Boardroom concept. Learn more about these inspiring women and why they believe the idea of a Personal Boardroom should be shared.
Why you should read their book Who is in your Personal Boardroom?
- The book is simple and to the point. It motivates you to take action immediately.
- The 12 roles are very well defined. You will easily identify the gaps in your professional network and easily come up with a plan to fill all the roles.
- The book contains a lot of hands-on tips to identify the people you need in your personal boardroom and to start the conversations with them.
Is there a 13th role that women specifically would need in their Personal Boardroom?
Since this blog is about Women in Business & Leadership, I needed to know… I reached to Amanda to ask her and here is her reply :
I think the answer is no. Our research on the network gap highlights the need for relationships that extend influence, knowledge and capability. These are covered by the 12 roles. The challenge for women is to think carefully about who to choose to play these roles. If women are to compete for the top jobs, their networks need to be as strategic and outward facing as their male peers. To the women we work with, we say look up, look across and look out!
Look up for political support – senior sponsors who can endorse you and your work. Look across your organisation for influential others who can help make sure your ideas are heard. Look outside your organisation for new ideas and to fuel fresh thinking.
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