For Personal and Professional
Development,
Make Time Each Month for Networking
It’s Time Well
Spent That Pays Off Handsomely
By Jeffrey Byrne, President & CEO
In my career as a development professional,
networking has been a source of strength
and knowledge for me in ways to develop
my own profession, learn about new opportunities
and to strengthen the organizations I have
worked with.
As we reflect on the past year and are
making plans and “resolutions”
for 2005, you might consider evaluating
how well over the past year you’ve
built personal and professional contacts
that benefit you and your organization.
I’d guess more than a few of you would
agree you have some “growing room”
in the time you devote to networking.
It’s a “should” that
often becomes a “later.”
To help you refocus, here are some reflections
and techniques that I’ve used over
the past 20 years to network and ultimately
cultivate relationships with friends, colleagues
and donors throughout my career.
What is networking?
I’ve come to rely on the following
“networking” components in my
personal and business life.
By networking and enjoying the cultivation
process that is the essence of networking,
I have been able to develop my personal
and professional career. I am proud to keep
nearly 10 individuals as mentors in my career
and my life
I try to set a goal each month of keeping
a few new appointments open for networking
each month. I seek out a few appointments
in the mornings and late afternoons (read:
before and after the typical work day) and
seek out colleagues, donors and associates
to visit with during those times for information
gathering.
I use my time with these networking contacts
to ask bold questions, to be inquisitive
about the other person’s experience,
to seek professional guidance on projects
I’m working on and to learn and share
new ideas that will assist my clients and
professional organizations I’m associated
with.
My professional life is richer and more
meaningful through the networking I’ve
developed with my colleagues in the field
through professional development associations.
These have been a fruitful source of getting
to know the donors and volunteers our organizations
rely upon.
I have used these sessions to get to know
these individuals personally and let them
know me personally and have used these sessions
as opportunities for growth.
A close colleague praises – or accuses
(I am not always certain which!) –
me of being the best person she knows of
turning business acquaintances into friends
and friends into business associates.
We know as development professional that
networking is a key to getting to know potential
volunteers and donors. It’s a first
step in cultivating them to further our
organizations’ missions. We also know
that networking and cultivation are activities
we should build into our daily, weekly and
monthly development calendars.
I must say, even for someone who’s
been practicing it for years, taking time
to network is something I have to work at
and keep focused on. It’s a “should”
that, in the midst of our busy schedules,
often gets shoved to the bottom of our list
of priorities.
My message to you today is: Just as you
should take the time to cultivate donors
and volunteers to your organization, you
should also take the time to engage in personal
and professional networking.
Try these steps as a starting point:
