Building Strategic Networks
This piece emphasizes the importance of strategic networking for healthcare professionals seeking fulfillment beyond the confines of their practice. It's a call to action for building meaningful, diverse relationships that can transform both personal and professional life.
Healthcare professionals want novel and collaborative opportunities. The reality is they are largely hustling inside the four walls of their practices. Despite spending most of your days talking to hundreds of people, it can still be a lonely place.
Most great things in life are not accomplished by individuals. Success looks different for everyone. For some it’s accomplishment and promotion, for others it’s better work-life harmony or financial outcomes, a healthier lifestyle, or engagement in meaningful work. No matter what success looks like to you, building your strategic network is critical.
Here are 5 key tips to remember as you build your strategic network:
#1 – Avoid Random Acts of Networking
I have heard time and time again that networking can be draining, even excruciating for some. Great networking should be strategic, not random. And so it should NEVER drain your energy. If it does, then you’re networking in the wrong places.
What topics, spaces, or people excite you and bring you energy? What can you do this month to feed that fire?
#2 – Let Curiosity Lead the Way
If you lead your life with intention and build your social capital in the spaces and places that light you up then you begin to build networks by feeding curiosity. Intentional networking helps to create force multipliers, meaning opportunities to learn, collaborate and achieve things that neither party could achieve on their own.
Who is one person whose journey you want to know more about? What collaborations could make your career more fulfilling?
# 3 – You Are Worthy
We are all human. We are reciprocal, societal, and interdependent beings. This does not mean networks should be transactional. If you hold back from networking because you are not sure what value you can offer others, remember this: you are worthy of other people’s time and you have important gifts of perspective to share with the world. So, view your networking opportunities as multi-dimensional with a goal of fostering connections, cross-fertilizing relationships, and giving gifts of perspective.
Who will value your perspective? How can you find more ways to share it with others?
# 4 – You Control the Effort, Not the Outcome
Strive to create more total value, not just value for yourself. Facilitating introductions for twenty other people does not guarantee the same twenty will give value back to you. However, one of them might and that one person can add an abundance of value to you. Remember, in networking you can only control the effort, not the outcomes.
How can you be a connector in your social ecosystem?
# 5 – Diversify
The key to survival is diversity. The diversity of our network matters as much as its size. Diversity can mean gender, race, culture, sexual orientation and diversity of thought, socioeconomic status, political views, religion, interests, ambitions, and skill sets. It’s time to get out of our cliques and remember we can learn more from people who are different than us.
If you check the makeup of your relationships, is everyone in your network just like you?
Relationships, connection, communication, and authenticity lead to a fulfilling life. Take steps towards a rich life and career by building a thriving social ecosystem of human capital full of people who are cheering you on along the way. I’m rooting for each of you and believe we can build a cooperative ecosystem where we all celebrate each other’s success. If you don’t know where to start, reach out to me. I’d love to help connect you with the next link in your network.
Adapted for general health practices from publications written for Pharmacy Practice + Business magazine:
https://www.canadianhealthcarenetwork.ca/building-strategic-networks