Due to nepotism and favoritism, having people pull strings for you, even when you deserve it, has a bad name.
But the people in your network (friends, family, acquaintances) can get you places or connect you to other people that can help you achieve a goal.
Over the past 2 months, I was on a team planning and organizing two events simultaneously. And if there’s anything I drew from working behind the scenes to make those two events happen, it’ll be networking.
Because of the people we had in our network, we could quickly make some critical changes at the eleventh hour and even execute some last minute tasks.
For one, because my boss knew someone who knew someone, we could fill a gap. I also reached out to a friend who gave me the contact of someone, who also referred me to the manager of the company handling the Shuttle Services at the University of Ghana.
In my case, when I reached out to the contact my friend gave me, I was thinking he’d ask so many questions. But he didn’t. He gladly gave me a contact number and said, “Kindly tell him I said he should assist you.” That was it.
I know it won’t be like this in every case. For instance when it has to deal with sharing critical information. But it did happen here and could happen for something else. Some people are always willing to help.
I used to think strategically building relationships or networks meant you were taking advantage of the people. But not anymore.
Not everyone is your friend. Not everyone will be your colleague. But you’ll probably need assistance from a stranger to help in your career, or just anything.
So it’s good to make a plan to intentionally engage these people. Put yourself in situations where you can interact with them.
But always remember it’s a two-way street and the relationships must be mutually beneficial. Pour into people as much as they do you.
Nice 😊