Outward Looking

You are looking at ways of building rapport. Start within your organisation, and practise your skills here before working on your wider network. It is useful to consider the ‘O’ words in this connection.

• Seek opportunities to make connections with colleagues on every occasion. Where? Anywhere you happen to be.

• Within your organisation, have a look at the management structure, research information about the company and look around you.

• What are the objectives you want to achieve while working there?

• How do you go about trying to be outstanding?

• If you are intent on enhancing your career prospects, be overt.

• What do you do to make yourself obvious – in a positive light?

• As mentioned earlier, presentation counts. In order to make connections, offer people something.

• Always keep an eye out for openings, whether this is to introduce yourself to new people or get involved with new projects or incentives.

• An ongoing effort will be required and as you gain in confidence, coincidences will occur. The possibilities are endless once you have started to look up from your desk and extend your horizons.

• The more adept you become at making friends and winning people over, the easier you will find it when trying to overcome obstacles that may hold you up.

Who is who? Inside your company, which people do you need to influence? Who do you know well enough to ask for support when you need it? In other words, who is in your inner circle?

Creating A Stakeholder Map

Creating a stakeholder map is a useful exercise for anyone within a large organisation who needs to know the right people. Consider the following:

• Who do you need to get to know better?

• How often do you currently make contact with them?

• What opportunities exist, or do you need to create, to connect with them, either in or out of the office?

• Do you have an identified ‘hot list’ of contacts? These are your ‘inner circle’ who can help you and influence others at times when support is needed -say when promotion or job opportunities occur.

My inner circle consists of perhaps ten people. They are people I know extremely well and for whom I have huge amounts of respect. Sometimes I get ‘stuck’ on a problem or issue. By telephoning one or two of them and asking, ‘what would you do?’, ‘have you ever come up against this?’ or ‘who would you talk to?’, I get a quick injection of common sense, or a radical solution to what I had thought was an insuperable problem.

They may be people within your organisation, or come from another aspect of your life – from school days, wider family members, former colleagues or friends. The whole point about your virtual team is that you would be prepared to do for them what they are prepared to do for you:

• You’re sincerely interested in them and what they are doing.

• You know their likes and dislikes and are genuinely interested in their success and happiness.

• Whatever it takes, you keep in regular contact.

• You’re alert to opportunities for introducing them to new people.

• You send regular informative emails or meet up for a coffee and chat.

You’re wise enough not to go to them just with your problems. You keep your visibility high, always maintaining them in the loop as to what you are doing, and making them aware of new developments in your career, business or profession as appropriate.

You’d stick up for them, write a glowing reference, support them, listen sympathetically to their concerns, spring into action for them – whatever it takes. You would trust them with your life and they would do the same for you!