Networking Strategies for Women

I recently heard a panel featuring kick-ass female attorneys in the general counsel’s offices of some of the largest brand names you know (Um, hello, SPANX!) and one topic the group kept coming back to was women’s lack of network - specifically to powerful people. At a time in life when you’re racing out of the office to make the soccer carpool, dedicating time to attend networking events can feel like a real drag. What should be a top priority for career development falls to the bottom of the ever-growing to-do list.

This crack panel shared their tips for cultivating a network:

• Get rid of the word, “networking.” Think of it as meeting interesting people that might turn into friends that might someday turn into business relationships. Be okay with the fact that some (Many? Most?) may not. That doesn’t mean you’re a networking failure. You have to kiss a lot of frogs and shake a lot of hands over mediocre chardonnay to find your people.
• Create your own “Kitchen Cabinet.” Assemble your trusted advisors on a regular basis to be your informal, personal Board of Advisors. Offer help likewise. Make your own network and nurture it until it thrives. Your network doesn’t need to be huge to be valuable.
• Build specific networks for specific situations. One corporate attorney was charged with managing complex litigation, something she had never done before. She called any and every litigator she knew, asked for introductions, lessons learned, best practices and assembled her informal network to get through an extremely difficult and high-profile project.

Look, I know hiring a sitter to drive your daughter to dance class so that you can attend an evening networking event seems like a colossal waste of time and money. But it's not. Done strategically, you can build your own highly-targeted network that actually saves you time,  helps your career and makes your work more efficient.