Shownotes
Welcome to the first episode of Unstuck and Unstoppable! In this episode, Sarah Archer dives into a topic many ambitious female leaders grapple with—networking. Love it or hate it, networking is essential for building relationships, advancing your career, and unlocking new opportunities. Sarah shares actionable tips to make networking more enjoyable and meaningful by shifting your mindset, setting clear goals, and navigating those awkward moments.
Show Notes
[00:00:00] Introduction
Sarah introduces Unstuck and Unstoppable, a podcast for ambitious female leaders looking to create more impact, income, and influence without burning out. She outlines the themes of confidence, purpose-driven leadership, and career success.
[00:02:00] The Networking Dilemma
Why so many of us dread networking and how our mindset—promotion or prevention—shapes our experience. Sarah shares her personal evolution from a prevention to a promotion mindset.
[00:05:00] Tip 1: Define Your "Why" for Networking
Learn how understanding your purpose can make networking more meaningful, whether it's learning, making connections, raising your profile, or simply being curious.
[00:08:00] Tip 2: Find the Right Networking Group
Sarah discusses the importance of finding a group that aligns with your personality and goals. Experimentation is key to discovering the right fit.
[00:10:00] Tip 3: Have Strategies for What You Dislike
Practical advice to handle awkward moments, from starting conversations to gracefully exiting ones that aren't working for you.
[00:13:00] Tip 4: Set Mini Goals
Boost your confidence and sense of achievement by setting small, actionable goals for each networking event.
[00:15:00] Tip 5: Follow Up Effectively
Networking doesn't end when the event is over. Sarah highlights the importance of maintaining meaningful connections through follow-ups and collaborations.
[00:16:00] Final Thoughts and Closing
Sarah recaps the key points, encourages listeners to adopt a promotion mindset, and invites them to be strategic about networking as part of their leadership journey.
Useful Links
Sign up for Weekly Career Inspiration
Learn about Leadership & Advancement Coaching Programmes
Join The Love What You Do Facebook Group
Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Rate & Review the Podcast
If you found this episode of Unstuck & Unstoppable helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
If you're kind enough to leave a review, please do let Sarah know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at:
Transcripts
Welcome to Unstuck and Unstoppable,
the podcast for ambitious female
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:leaders who want to create more impact,
income, and influence in their careers.
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:feel connected to their passion
and purpose, but without
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:selling out or burning out.
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:I'm Sarah Archer, a leadership coach
and career strategist, helping women
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:like you thrive in leadership roles
while staying true to your values.
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:I'm the founder of CareerTree
Coaching and have over 15 years of
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:coaching experience and significant HR
leadership experience to share with you.
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:I know as a female leader it can
be hard to find time to focus
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:on your career aspirations.
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:The day job can be all consuming.
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:Plus, no matter how senior you are,
there are always going to be times
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:when you feel stuck, when you have
self doubt, or feel like an imposter.
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:And that's where unstuck
and unstoppable comes in.
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:Each week I'll be sharing practical
strategies, insightful interviews and
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:inspiring stories to help you boost
your confidence, lead with purpose
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:and achieve sustainable success.
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:If you're ready to stop playing
small and unlock the incredible
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:potential you have within you and feel
unstoppable, you're in the right place.
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:Let's get started.
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:Hello, and welcome to the very
first episode in the unstuck
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:and unstoppable podcast.
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:I am so pleased.
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:You're here.
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:Now let's dive into today's topic, which
is all about how not to hate networking.
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:Whenever I talk to my clients about
networking, there's definitely a love
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:hate relationship going on often with
a bit more of the hate part of it.
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:. How does it make you feel when you think
about going to, some sort of networking
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:event, whether that's an internal, or an
external event, how does it make you feel?
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:What does it bring up for you?
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:because, whether you've got a
promotion mindset or prevention
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:mindset, it will determine how
you experience a networking event.
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:Let me explain those
two a little bit more.
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:And I've definitely had
both of those mindsets.
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:if you've got a prevention mindset, then
you'll find that you're feeling about
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:networking is something I have to do.
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:I have to put myself through it.
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:I have to endure it.
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:I can't wait to get away.
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:It's something I have to tick
off, something I have to do.
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:If you've got a promotion mindset,
then you're more curious, more
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:open to what the possibilities
are that networking might bring.
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:And you can see the advantages
that it can bring you.
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:if you're in the prevention mindset,
which a lot of us are around networking,
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:it means that you experience it in
a way that makes you feel you're
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:not being your authentic self.
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:And therefore you don't tend to enjoy it.
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:it becomes more of a vicious circle,
because if you don't enjoy it, you
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:don't want to go, you dread it.
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:And what we want to do is create
more of a virtuous circle by
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:having more of a promotion mindset.
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:And obviously mindsets can shift.
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:When I was a senior HR leader, I
definitely had a prevention mindset.
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:I felt I had to do it because
the business expected it.
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:I knew it was good in terms of,
potential connections or collaborations.
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:I knew I had to promote the
organization and promote, myself by
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:going along to these networking events.
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:But because I'm on the introvert
scale, I found it quite daunting.
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:I hated having to walk into a
room where I didn't know people.
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:I felt it was a bit cliquey.
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:There were little groups
all over the place.
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:I didn't really like
the small talk element.
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:I like to get onto the meaty topics.
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:it was really out of my comfort zone.
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:But when I became a business
owner, I, obviously had to
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:network to promote my business.
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:And, I ended up going along to a
really lovely networking group where,
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:I ended up with a couple of other
women taking it over and running it
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:because the person, Who was running
it decided not to do it anymore and
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:we didn't want the group to fold.
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:We created our own networking culture.
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:We made sure it was really welcoming.
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:We never let people be on their own.
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:We always like connecting people.
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:We put in lots of activities and speakers.
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:So it wasn't all about small talk, but
we left lots of space for connection
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:and I really enjoyed networking.
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:I definitely shifted on to
more of a promotion mindset.
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:and also it gave me a purpose at the
networking, which is something that can
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:be helpful when you are networking.
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:I've definitely experienced both
prevention and promotion mindset.
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:So I know it's possible to do that shift.
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:And what I wanted to talk through
today was some ideas about how you
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:can make it more enjoyable for you.
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:Hopefully you'll find some of
these, helpful and you can put
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:them into practice at the next
networking event you're going to.
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:What I'm talking about today is more
of the group networking experience.
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:Obviously networking can be more
on a one to one basis as well,
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:But today's is about that thought
of networking in an external
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:or internal group setting.
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:when you know it's going to be good
for your career, it's going to help you
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:get bitterball, it's going to help to
do all the things that you want to do
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:around building your career and helping
you be more effective in your job.
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:The first tip is to think about being
clear about why you're networking.
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:If you get clear about why you're
networking, you're going to get more
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:out of it because you're going to
be more focused and it's also going
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:to make it more meaningful for you.
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:You're going to have more of a
purpose with your networking.
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:let's look at the reasons
why you might be networking.
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:first of all, it could be that
you want to learn something about
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:your industry, or your profession.
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:networking groups are really great
for being able to learn things.
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:often they'll have speakers who
will share something with you or
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:they'll be discussing particular
topics that are going to be useful.
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:maybe one of your whys could
be around wanting to learn and
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:grow and add to your knowledge.
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:Or it might be that you want to
increase your connections and
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:contacts for a particular reason.
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:That could be around
your career development.
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:Maybe you want to find a mentor, or you
want to, increase your connections for
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:future opportunities, or it might be
about helping you do your job better.
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:it might be about finding
a potential buddy.
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:someone who's doing the same job as
you in a different organization, or
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:Or it might be about, collaborations,
or it might be about getting
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:connections from your connections.
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:what you can do for this, you
can think about researching in
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:advance, who you want to talk to.
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:sometimes you can find out who's going,
and get the host to do an introduction
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:for you, often those people that you're
connecting with are willing to introduce
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:you to their internal colleagues.
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:For example, if you work in marketing
and you happen to be at a networking
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:event where you're talking to a
senior finance person, that finance
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:person might be willing to introduce
you to their marketing peer.
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:And so you can grow your
contacts through the contacts
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:you make in the networking group.
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:LinkedIn is a great way to follow
up with people and to build your
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:connections on LinkedIn and find
out who perhaps in their connection.
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:sphere, you might also
want to be connected to.
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:your third possibility about what your
why for networking might be about a
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:need to be seen, I'm often talking to
clients about raising their visibility
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:in terms of their internal promotion
opportunities or external, future career
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:opportunities, or you might want to
raise your profile to find a mentor or
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:raise it because you want to be seen
in your industry as a go to person.
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:you can be quite strategic about maybe
give you speaking opportunities Or where
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:you can find connections for speaking
opportunities, or maybe you want to
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:do some guest blogging if writing is
your thing, or finding ways to get,
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:opportunities to write for your industry.
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:or it might be about, the networking
group that all the movers and shakers
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:in your industry go to, so you can
connect with people who are really
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:cutting edge in your industry.
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:and you can go into that why with
a sort of spirit of reciprocity.
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:Thinking about how you can help them
rather than necessarily always thinking
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:about what they can do for you.
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:And that is quite a
useful, way to approach it.
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:You can think about, okay,
if they've got speaking
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:opportunities, maybe they need some.
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:Sometimes it can be hard to find speakers.
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:I know when I run my networking group, we
were always looking for great speakers
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:to come along and talk to the group.
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:so having people volunteer their
services can be , really helpful.
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:and your fourth why could be
around just being curious.
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:which is a great mindset to go
into these things with anyway.
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:because networking can
be really interesting.
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:You can meet people who've
got, stories and different
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:journeys to yours to explore.
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:going in with that, it's not about me.
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:I'm going to go and find out about
people and just see where it takes me
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:can be a great mindset to be going into
it with because it's quite empowering
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:for you and it takes the focus away
from feeling you've got to have that
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:elevator pitch, which everyone hates.
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:and then you can make some meaningful
connections through just being curious.
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:You know, people love
talking about themselves.
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:having someone in the, in that,
, conversation who , really helpful.
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:So that's the first thing,
find out what your why is.
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:Be really clear about why am I networking?
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:What do I want to get from it?
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:What's my purpose of going along?
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:The second thing is to find
the right group for you.
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:And with this, you might have to
kiss a few frogs before you find, the
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:group that, Is a good fit for you.
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:When I was, trying out different
business groups, I definitely
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:went along to a few to work out
what was the right culture for me.
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:it's good to try out a few and just
notice, what enables you to feel
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:authentic when you're in your group,
because they all have different formats,
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:different cultures, different rules, and
you can notice how welcoming they are.
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:how open to newcomers.
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:how relaxed they are, what kind of topics
they talk about, what the surroundings
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:are like, and also will they help you
achieve your purpose for networking?
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:So be really clear about what kind
of group, enables you to feel
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:like you can enjoy networking.
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:so if you prefer a bit more
formal setting, then look
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:for a more formal group.
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:If you like more relaxed, informal,
groups, then obviously try and
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:find one that fits with you.
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:Then the third tip is to have
strategies for the bits you hate.
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:We all have the elements of
networking groups that we
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:really don't look forward to.
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:so if you've got a strategy, then it's
going to help you feel more confident
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:if going along to a networking meeting
takes you out of your comfort zone.
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:obviously that first bit of arriving
and not knowing anybody can feeling.
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:I'm scanning the room.
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:I can't see anybody that I know.
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:your strategy could be about checking
the guest list because often they will
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:have a guest list of who's attending
before the meeting and then identifying
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:somebody that you'd like to talk to and
then asking the host to introduce you.
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:If they're a good host, they'll
be happy to introduce you.
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:if you don't know anybody you can say to
the host look it's my first group I don't
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:know anybody would you mind introducing
me to somebody and they will help you
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:with that if that's not possible then
it is just about being proactive and
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:finding a group that you can ask if
you can join and thinking about what's
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:the worst that could happen they're not
going to say No, you can't, , because
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:everyone's polite, we're gonna, be
okay about someone joining our group.
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:So just going for it.
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:It's going to be just knowing that
you can do that will help you.
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:But , networking, people do
move around, they do circulate.
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:So it might be that you find
yourself with no one to talk to.
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:So again, you've got to
have a strategy for that.
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:It could be okay, I'm going to look for
somebody else who's on their own who
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:might just come out of a group and make
a beeline for them and introduce myself.
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:They will be incredibly thankful
that you do that because no one likes
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:standing there on their own feeling
like they've got no one to talk to.
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:So be really happy to talk to you.
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:If you can't see anybody, then it
might be heading over to the coffee
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:and tea and biscuits, and starting
a conversation with whoever else is
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:there, and taking it from there really.
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:Then you might have the scenario where
you're stuck with somebody who doesn't
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:pick up on social cues or is dominating
the conversation and you feel like you
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:could be stuck with them for the whole
two hours of the networking session.
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:so having a strategy where you know
you're going to thank them for their time
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:explain that you're, trying to meet as
many people as possible today and excusing
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:yourself or even offering to introduce
them to somebody else so you can move on.
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:but knowing that, you've got a
strategy, so you're not going to be
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:stuck with somebody the whole time.
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:or if like me, you hate that
small talk piece that just feels
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:like, Oh God, are we ever going
to talk about anything meaningful?
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:you could research topics before
you go along that are going to be
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:interesting to your co networkies.
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:So if you're going to a
professional networking group
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:where it's all your potential.
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:your profession, , researching some topics
or just generally researching topics that
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:you could think could be interesting.
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:And then being prepared to be that
person who brings up the, Oh, did you
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:read about the article on such and such?
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:Or, , can just steer the topic onto
something a bit more meaningful.
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:as soon as you can.
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:Knowing, again, you've got that
strategy to do that can help you relax
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:into, okay, I know what I'm going to
do if something like this crops up.
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:then the fourth thing you can do to
make it more enjoyable for yourself
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:is to set yourself some mini goals
for that networking experience.
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:That can help you stay
motivated, while you're there.
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:It can also give you a sense of
achievement if you've met that
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:mini goal by the end of the.
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:networking session.
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:It could be the number of people you
want to meet, or it could be there's
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:a particular person you want to meet,
or it could be you want to have the
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:opportunity to give a talk, or you
want to, get a particular kind of
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:type of connection from somebody.
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:But setting yourself something as
your goal, will help you, again,
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:feel like you've got a purpose, when
you're there, and, help you feel
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:like it's, been a good use of my
time because I've achieved X or Y.
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:and then being aware that networking
doesn't necessarily finish when you've,
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:finished the meeting, but actually
it's also about, continuing those
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:conversations with people that you found
meaningful or helpful or that you want
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:to build a longer term connection with.
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:I mentioned LinkedIn is a great way to
follow up with people, but also, having a
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:coffee catch up, taking it more on a one
to one basis outside of the networking.
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:setting, sharing useful
information, or even, exploring
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:the possibility of collaboration
at some point can be a great way
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:to take that networking, further,
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:So it becomes more of a long
term, connection for you.
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:So just to run through
them again for you.
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:We've got, first of all, being
clear about why you're networking.
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:So having real clarity
about what you're doing.
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:What am I doing it for?
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:Is it to learn something to,
increase my contacts, to get
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:some opportunities to be seen?
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:what am I doing it for?
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:And then the second thing is
finding the right group for me.
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:Not feeling like the first one I go to,
I've got to stick with, but actually
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:experimenting and finding the one
that really makes me feel authentic.
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:then having some strategies
for the bits that you hate.
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:So, you can confidently deal
with any of those scenarios, then
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:setting yourself a mini goal.
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:for each of the networking meetings
and being aware about how you want
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:to take that networking forward,
take those contacts forward.
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:Maybe if you're more comfortable in
a one to one setting anyway, being
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:willing to take those further and
be proactive in those relationships.
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:I hope that's inspired you to enjoy
networking more and be thinking about,
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:okay, if I've got a prevention mindset
now, What can I do to tip my mindset
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:more into a kind of promotion mindset?
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:I hope that's inspired you to enjoy
networking more and be strategic about
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:how it can help your leadership career.
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:See you next week.
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:Thank you so much for listening
to this episode of the Unstuck
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:and Unstoppable podcast.
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:I have lots of free resources you
can access on my website, ww.career
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:tree coaching.co uk, and I'll
also put links in the show notes.
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:If you found this episode
helpful, then please subscribe
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:so you don't miss the next one.
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:And please do share it with a
friend and leave me a review
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:and I will personally thank you.
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:Remember, you're capable of more
than you know, shine brightly.
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:Lead boldly and unlock the
extraordinary potential within you.
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:Be unstoppable.
