We’ve all seen and heard the preachings of “your network is your net worth”; and people aren’t wrong. It's true, the people you surround yourself with have massive influence on both your professional and personal life. Surrounding yourself with motivated and ambitious individuals in your professional network is crucial.
Networking communities and platforms are great; they provide a pool of people who have all joined for the same reason - they want to connect. Yet the strength of any network lies at the mercy of its members ambitions.
Forming a network of people in various stages in their career has limitless potentials. As an individual, you have the potential to be student, teacher and peer. As a network, we hold the answers to a vast array of questions and queries. A strong, connected network is a force to be reckoned with because a number of great minds rallied together is bound to produce ideas, solutions and inspiration.
Within this network, you can expect to be humbled by the experience of others and delighted by the joys of being in a position to give advice. As you share your own experiences, they’ll become lessons to others. You’ll gain confidence and insight into skills you weren’t aware you possessed, all because you’ve put yourself in a new situation.
Great people can acknowledge their strengths and work to improve their ‘weaknesses’. Getting advice from an expert of the field in which you are a novice will save time, money and energy. As we’ve heard before: repeated mistakes are a poor use of valuable time.
If you’re interested in homing in on your networking skills, a great read is Othegha Owagba’s Little Black Book. Chapter 8 which provides a beautifully frank guide to perfecting the art of networking.
By Tomi Akingbade, Founder
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