In today’s minisode, we continue the Think Like a CEO series and in part 2, we’re going to look at how to leverage your network authentically and getting your network to work for you when you're not in the room.

Chief, this is such an important topic. If you recall, we've spoken a lot about how to be promoted faster in the corporate world or in any business. Our formula is promotion speed equals track record to the power of your network.

So, we have to build that track record, because without it, then obviously the size of our network doesn't matter. But if we have a good track record, the power of that network will make an enormous difference.

We spoke last episode about how CEOs think about personal branding. Remember your reputation – your personal brand – is what people say about you or think about you before you enter the room.

Now what we want to know is when we have a great reputation and a good personal brand, how do we get the network to work for us and how to get your network to think of you first, when they have a problem.

If you get this right, chief, you'll get more opportunities, your work will be easier because you're able to leverage the power of other people inside and outside of the business, and you’ll have a more enjoyable career, which means you'll be healthier, fitter, you'll get promoted faster, you'll definitely get better results. And you know what? It just makes business so much more fun when you can do it with a group of people, a broad network of fantastic people.

Now, when I talk about your network, I mean your entourage. We speak about this in my book, Chief Maker. It's other people either at the same level in the business or more senior executives, stakeholders, board members, suppliers, clients, external trusted advisors that you can call upon, or former colleagues. These are people that are there for you.

So here are the 5 key principles of networking.

1. Ask what you can do for your network

Never think purely about what you can get out of your network. You must think about, initially, what you can give it. This happens to a lot of salespeople. They make a phone call to someone and try to make a sale. And it's the wrong way around because what you should really be trying to do in business is to help someone with your product or your service, or you are just being genuine as you are in a position where you can assist someone.

Your network is like a garden; if you don't give to the garden, if you don't water, if you don't get rid of the bug, if you don't do the weeding, or you don't spend time in the garden, you'll get nothing out of it. A farmer spends all their life tending to their crops, tending to their stock and we have to do this to our network in a similar way otherwise things get stagnant. So, you have to think about what you can give to your network to help it grow and be better.

If all the people in your network are being promoted, are doing great business deals, are leading fantastic change, and you're associated with them and you've actually maybe helped them do some of that, then you're going to be in a wonderful position as they grow and they expand, and so will you.

But if everyone in your network is stalled and no one is growing and no one is achieving change because you haven't done anything to help them, then guess what? Bad luck. The same will happen to you.

Chief, this requires a real abundance mentality. You have to give generously and really know that the world will give back to you in one way or another. You can't count the cost at this point.

I have given so much to my network over so many years and what is really fascinating is normally I'll get paid back in ways I never expected, in ways I never knew about. Someone has a conversation with someone when I'm nowhere nearby and then I get a random phone call out of the blue from someone who wants to know what I do at Chief Maker. That is truly wonderful!

2. Earn the right to be your network’s problem solver

This is so important in professional services, and likewise, when you're in any kind of senior role and your boss, or senior stakeholder, board member, or even an external client, you want them to be thinking when they have a problem, “Who should I call?” And you want to be the first person they think of. 

Because, Chief, if they're not thinking of you, they're thinking of someone else and they're making that call and someone else is solving that problem. So, we have to be thinking, “How do I become a really valuable problem solver?”

This is being the person that somebody calls when they have a problem, and when they do, you double down and you go the extra mile.

3. Your network is your network’s network

This leads me to the next point. If you don’t know the answer or you can’t help someone when they call you for help, then you should be able to refer them to someone who can.

I had somebody call me just today to ask me about salary rates or what they're worth in the market. I said that it wasn’t my point of expertise, but I sent them to someone who did know. I solved their problem, not directly, but I did.

And what's more, I also helped out someone else who knows a bit about this. And maybe, one day in the future, they'll contact me about helping someone who wants to be a better executive or get to the top and lead a business to a new level. So, your network is your network's network.

When you're problem-solving, always leverage that. Be calling the person out there who might be able to solve a problem. If you're stuck on some transformational piece or you’re looking at a new product or which new technology to use or you've got difficulty with someone in your team, you should call someone who is your problem solver. You've probably got one, someone who you share your career with. Call them, and if they don't know, ask them if they know someone. Don't be stuck where you are. Leverage the power of your network or your broader community.

4. The power of your track record

Never forget that your track record earns you a network. If you are out there and you're spending huge amounts of energy to have people talk to you, perhaps what you need to do is actually withdraw a bit and spend a bit more time on your track record and your reputation.

Go back to the previous episode on personal branding. When you've got a track record and you've built all the trust elements – you’re likeable, capable, and reliable – you actually become more magnetic. People think that you’re someone who they can rely upon to do a great job again and again.

And then when you're not in the room and someone else says, “Hey, does anybody know someone who can do this?” You get called upon straight away. They're working for you when you're not in the room and that is the power of having a great network of ambassadors.

At Chief Maker, we get the vast majority of our business from clients we have worked with prior, who then refer new clients to us. To be fair, most professional services businesses are like that, but it also works in the corporate environment. It’s how you get most of the new opportunities at work, even promotions, or new business deals. If you're in a senior role or a CEO role, people come to you because you can do a great job again and again.

5. Getting something in return without looking like it

If all you ever do is give, give, give, the other person might start to feel like the relationship is out of balance. And that's not how relationships should work in business. What they want to do at some point is to give back to you. One way to help them do that is to every now and then ask them for their advice. If you've given a lot to someone, don't ever be afraid to ask for their help or for their advice.

If you're a trusted advisor for them, you're someone they go to for advice or a sounding board. Why not give them the gift of being that for you or give them the gift of opening a door for you? That creates even higher levels of trust and it's a far better and healthier relationship than one where they're just taking.

In the end, if they just keep taking and receiving, they will probably stop calling as they'll feel like they're a burden to you. So, you have to leverage or level that relationship up.

A great network is not one-way, it's a two-way street (just ask our Chief Maker MiniMBA Alumni!). You have to allow those opportunities when people want to help you out and refer you. You have to allow that to come and just demonstrate your gratefulness and your thankfulness.

So Chief, there are five ways that CEOs and other great leaders think about networking.

Deal hope,

Greg