Stop trying to “network.” It’s a dead giveaway that you’re stuck in the professional friend zone. You know who else “networks”? Every person who leaves a conference with new LinkedIn connections they'll forget to follow up on. And how many of those coffee meetings turned into something meaningful? Here’s the move: 🔎Identify three people in your field whose work you genuinely admire. 💐Share their insights in your spaces—your posts, newsletters, or conversations—and give them their flowers openly. 📝Reach out with something specific you’ve learned from them and how it changed your game. Connections aren’t about who you know—they’re about how you show up. Be memorable through resonance, not just requests. Who’s been your smartest connection—and what impact did they have on your career? 👇
I knew Ron J. Williams from Stuy but we weren’t close. In the mid 2010s we reconnected and he gave me advice on writing. I didn’t like writing blogs so he recommended I micro-blog. Not knowing what that was, he said write something short in a status update. I began #RONderings in January 2018 and the rest is history.
Your Blueprint for the Human Side of Change I Connector I Coach I Collaborator I Confidant I UPenn Organizational Leadership & Learning Doctoral Candidate
1wThe Lord has been kind to me, so I have many. However, my mentor, Mark E. Weston, Ph.D. who I met in 2005, taught me about the power of not only networking, but the importance of building relationships and personal branding as an early career professional. Ruthanne Buck has always been one of my champions and taught me that I was fierce and modeled genuine authenticity while demonstrating grace under fire. I learned how to navigate so much from her example. Dr. Laine Powell was my first supervisor and still is my mentor to this day. She showed me what was possible, that I always should strive for my absolute best, and that the details matter. I've been blessed with these three and many others in my network. I don't take any of them for granted because I understand that it's not about me. Someone is waiting on who I'm becoming so I can give just like so many have given to me.