‘Sneak Peek’ CoachME Series

Networking Know How

Available from: Amazon.com & Amazon.co.ukVisit Dr Clare’s author page at Amazon:amazon.com/author/drclarebeckettmcinroy

Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

Commendations

“Dim the lights. Start up the music. Raise the curtain. Capture this moment. It’s the place you’ll end up after working through this book. And the difference between now and then is that you’ll be properly prepared…”~ Dr Laurence S Lyons - lslyons.com - Director of The Metacorp Group Leadership coaching consultancy, founding editor of Coaching for Leadership, and author of the forthcoming Dr Fink’s Leadership Casebook.

“The book is brilliant. Such a useful tool for people at all stages of their careers… In ‘CoachME – Networking Know How’, the author has assembled a toolbox useful for anyone wanting to progress in his/her career or life – or having progressed into a position in which these skills do not come naturally. So many of us are uncomfortable in social situations which require us to present ourselves more confidently. This step-by-step guide holds our hand to increase that self-confidence.”~ Ronald Stones OBE – Director, Ronald Stones Consulting

“Networking Know How is an extraordinary book about one of today’s most critical subjects – networking. Read it and learn how to develop a network that will help you reach your potential!”~ Marshall Goldsmith, Author of the New York Times Bestsellers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

Widen your net and make it work for you!

Use conversational clues to prompt your story telling. This avoids appearing pushy.

Express your true selfTo express your true self you need to get back to basics and to be clear about your core values. It’s about overcoming

your fears and increasing your self awareness, being honest about who you are, and Knowing your capabilities and your strengths. Your authentic self will not only feel more comfortable and ‘real’, but will be evident to others.

Get out there!

falsefakedforged

smartshrewd

sagacious

unpromisingunsuccessful

uneasy

inexperiencedinnocent

inept

Situationally Aware

Situationally Unaware

Inauthentic Authentic

The grid below is adapted from a widely used model for political awareness. It offers an authentic, practical approach to networks and networking and enables people to be highly effective at networking and building networks whilst being true to themselves.

The Two Axis Are:1. Authentic Axis: Being authentic means knowing your strengths, passions, brand, purpose and being true to yourself.

2. Situationally Aware Axis: Being situationally aware means knowing how the organisation works in terms of networking, the political norms, who is who, how things get done, and the goals, vision and values of the organisation.

Identify your transferrable skills

I want others to ‘see’ me as… (brave, confident, charming, fit, organised, pretty, smart…)

Who do you want to be ‘seen’ as? ...

I want others to ‘remember’ me for… (my creativity, my dedication, being driven, courage, compassion…)

How do you want to be remembered?

CoachME

CoachMEThese are my Key Values because…1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Quotations“Your values affect the way you lead your life, the way you act towards others and the way others perceive you. By realigning yourself in reference to your values you ensure that you are keeping on track."Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

Quotations“We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn.”- Mary Catherine Bateson, Writer

“I use both social and traditional networking as a way to keep up with friends, family, and colleagues. In this fast paced world, networking via social media can bridge the physical distance between people and keep a relationship going long after the initial contact has passed. However, traditional ways of networking will never go out of style. Whatever method you use, I think the key to effective networking is maintaining the will to communicate and making the effort to deepen those relationships. At the end of the day, that’s what people appreciate, and makes them want to reach back out to you.”- Diane C Del Rosario, Economic/Commercial Officer - U.S. Embassy Manama

Quotations“Blogging is also a great conversation point, “Yes, I wrote an article about that in my blog. Would you like the URL?”Regardless of your venture, you need a website and links. Blogging from your site and having it easily accessible from other sites is free marketing. So, how do you ask for links?”Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

Success

What does success mean to you? Success is a very subjective term that incorporates emotions and actions as well as values, hopes and dreams. Your understanding or interpretation of success may depend not only on your frame of mind and frame of reference at a given point in your life. It can also be influenced by your responsibilities, actions, prior experiences and learning. Success is personal and profound. Your definition of what you want to achieve within your personal and professional life is unique to you. You may aspire to reach or exceed the achievements of others, but what’s important is maintaining a balanced life, with a clear focus and a great deal of happiness.Excerpt from Networking Know How – Dr Clare Beckett McInroy

Quotations“Wonder… is the source of all knowledge.”- A J Heschel, Author

“I say ‘hello’ and just ‘do you want to play with me’ and that’s it.”- Phoebe Beckett-McInroy, aged four years

“…communication keeps us healthy because it makes us happy. What can make us sick is increased pressure, stress, or even dependency on technologies that not only facilitate communication but also make it more complicated sometimes…”Miriam Meckel, Professor, Director of Institute for Media and Communication Management, University of St Gallen, Switzerland

Be Polite and Conscientious

BEHAVIOURS

When personal and organisational brands align, people are happier at work.

Quotations“Don’t forget to turn off your mobile phone or at least put it on silent. It’s very distracting when another person’s phone rings, but it’s embarrassing when it’s your own! In a networking situation you need to give the person you are talking to your undivided attention.”Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

CoachME

Stage One – Planning Your Unique Introduction

My scenario (e.g. meeting a new colleague)

My opening line…

Quotations“Now it’s time to prepare your own powerful introduction whilst reflecting upon a situation you have experienced recently. Don’t forget to ‘bottom line’. You need to be quick and clear. Note down the main points that you think are relevant for your situation. Don’t waffle.” - Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

Try and be sincere without upsetting the person. You need to ensure you are not lying, manipulating or vague. None of these things sound authentic. And you also need to keep your focus in mind.

company shareholders

colleagues suppliers your boss

senior managers peers

customers

WORK SPHERE HOME SPHERE

PUBLIC SPHERE

husband/wife/partnerfriendsnanny

childrenyour extended familyyour tennis teacher

neighboursyour golf partner

trade associationsbank manager

children’s school teacher

pressinterest groups

governmentcommunity

Your stakeholders may include:

Now that you are clear about the important role of different stakeholders in your ventures, you need to consider HOW you are going to come up with ways to ‘widen your net’. Widening your network will allow you to increase your social capacity. First, however, you will need to think about HOW you network, WHERE you network and whether there are alternative options for widening your ‘net’.

Nuances of Networking

Quotations“Why do we reciprocate at all – in any walk of life? Fundamentally, if we ignore a kind act it gets noted by the spurned and business can amplify these peccadilloes. Reciprocation must surely be one of the lubricants of good business.”- Ronan Dodworth, Managing Director of Solstice IT Ltd Business Intelligence Consultancy Firm

Quotations“The Law of Reciprocity has a simple basis: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. However, it goes one step further than this. The law states that whatever you do will be returned to you. In other words, if you want to create success for yourself, help someone else become successful.”Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

Dynamic Reciprocity

CoachMEMy scenario (e.g. meeting a new colleague)

My opening line…

Quotations“Reciprocity is not just linking people together and assisting when you can. It is most beneficial to all involved when you link a few people together, physically whilst working the room or on-line, those with the same mission, interests, values, vision and energy. In this way you stay involved building and deepening relationships.”Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

The Five ‘A’s of Achievement

You can create the greatest degree of influence if you maintain the five basic aspects of networking behaviour illustrated in the diagram below. You need to work at keeping The Five ‘A’s alive simultaneously…

Things will go wrong, what’s important is to learn from set backs and develop coping strategies for the future.

REFLECT

SKILLS

Quotations“Plan before you post. Think about content - Is it clear? Is it what you really want to say? Think about timing. When will your audience be most receptive? think about strategy. What will keep you ‘alive’ in your networks?”Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

“Social networking sites have been proven to support communication between older and younger family members. Despite older family member sometimes experiencing technical difficulties, networking sites keep relationships alive.”(Nef, Ganea, Muri and Mosimaan, University of Bern, Switzerland, 2013)

It’s important to be active and keep connecting with friends, co-workers, clients, professors and recruiters. You never know who your friend or professor might know. A connection could help you obtain your ideal job someday, but you need to take time and effort to ensure quality relationships. It’s not a competition to see who has the most connections. You need to take care with spelling and grammatical errors on your LinkedIn pages just as you would worry about posting provocative photos to your Facebook pages.

A survey by Jobvite survey indicated that 54 percent of respondents reacted negatively to such errors (http://welcome.jobvite.com).

Also consider how you can make your profile stand out from the rest.

This final chapter works with synergy. By re-visiting the BMC CoachME Model, with reference to networking, it enables you to bring together your Belief and Momentum whilst Celebrating your results to date. It also allows you to consolidate and revise your ‘bigger quest’, to do the difficult task of ensuring you are moving towards what you really want personally, professionally and organisationally. It moves you into commitment and a way of wanting more of what you need and enjoy, your ‘peak experience’, leaving behind half-hearted efforts, feelings of failure and frustration.

Quotations“Now that your networking journey is complete, remember this is the beginning of new opportunities so get out there, make mistakes, learn from them and engage. You know how to network, make your net work for you.” Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy

BMC Coaching Model

CoachME Series - Networking Know HowFirst paperback edition printed 2015 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryISBN 978-0-9931999-0-5Published in UK by Beckett McInroy Publishing

For more copies of this book, please email: coachme@beckett-mcinroy.com

Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of this information contained herein.

All rights reserved. CoachME Networking Know How or parts thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy, except where permitted by law.

Beckett McInroy Consultancy SPC CR: 79249 © 2015