In the course of my business, I keep meeting tons of young bright people and many of them leaders who propel their own business. I often find many, however struggling to take their business to the next level. It was then; I began exploring into what restrains them from the mighty leap they are otherwise capable of.
The more I studied; it became clearer that if at all there is a single factor that propels leadership to the next level, it is their ability do Networking efficiently. And what helps you to build an efficient Network? The answer was simple “Relationship!” Let me list down few factors that would enable you to build a good Network for you.
Prepare Ground: A farmer prepares his land before sowing seeds because, however good the seeds might be, if the land is not prepared, they would die. To prepare a fertile relationship, one must develop the ability to understand each other and understanding happens only if we listen. A seed reciprocates to nutrients and people responds when we let them know that we can help them where they need help. Without listening it is simply not possible to understand them and their concerns.
Willingness to help: Willingness to help comes when we develop sharing and caring attitude and sharing and caring attitude cannot come if one is self centered. When people notice our sharing and caring attitude, it attracts them; but if they are superficial, that attraction wanes out.
Show you are willing to work together: The famous saying, “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care” encourages them to come closer; but to leverage them, we must first collaborate them in their endeavor to accomplish the tasks they may be finding it difficult to pursue. Our willing to collaborate, build Trust in them and if there is anything that propels relationship directly, it is Trust.
Show that you are a genuine person: When you laboriously display sincerity and integrity, it helps you to be seen by people as a ‘genuine’ person who is not fake, but authentic. You cannot fake authenticity as insincerity is often revealed by time no matter how hard you try to camouflage it.
Persistency: Persistency means our ability to continue to follow up with people on things they and you are interested in and want to build on. If one is unable to follow up things, the ‘leads’ however strong they may be, would die like the seeds sowed in the land that is unprepared.
Cheers,
Shankar.