3 Essential Networking Strategies for Senior Leaders

In a recent LinkedIn Live event, Michelle Merritt and I shared several easy, but essential ways to build, strengthen, and activate your network as a senior leader. This article details three strategies we mentioned in the full video below.

1. Consistency is Key

Consistency is crucial when it comes to networking. It’s not enough to reach out only when you need something. Instead, make networking a regular part of your professional routine by attending industry events, participating in online forums, or inviting current and new contacts to meet for a virtual coffee. Making it part of your routine now will help you stay top-of-mind, build executive visibility, and ensure you have a strong network you can call on when needed.

2. Leverage Your Existing Network

Many people overlook the depth of their current network and the power of their existing connections. Make sure to reconnect with all current and former colleagues, mentors, and industry peers, as well as past and present vendors, partners, and fellow members of professional organizations. These relationships are often more impactful because of the trust and familiarity you've already built. Keep in touch regularly, whether through casual catch-ups, sharing valuable resources, or offering support.

3. Be Strategic and Intentional

Networking shouldn’t be walking into random networking events to hand out business cards to anyone and everyone. Many of you have heard me say this before, but the key to an effective strategy is having a clear focus on your ideal next role and target audience. This way, you can identify the people and organizations that align with your professional goals and you make it a point to connect with them or make the effort to go to the places they are (live or virtually).

For more actionable tips for networking as a senior leader, see our full conversation here.

Next Steps:

If you need to level up your executive job search, reach out to us at D&S Executive Career Management for help with your executive or board-level resume and LinkedIn profile, job search strategy, recruiter introductions, interview preparation, compensation negotiation strategy, and more.

Schedule a call with our team here.