Networking is one of the best ways to increase your authority, your bank account and- most importantly- your impact.
You know,
That message that you want to share with the world
That legacy that you want to leave
The reason you believe God put you on the earth
That’s your impact or your “why”
However, networking is an art that not everybody gets right
Hence the reason that it gets the bad rep of being really icky and gross
Here are 3 things to avoid to ensure that you do, as demonstrated by Esther
#1 Not having a strong enough “why”
As soon as Esther found out about the plot to kill her people, her “why” (purpose or priority) became saving them. This, despite the fact that she knew that approaching the king about this could result in her death. This shows us that the foundation of our success lies in our why because it keeps us motivated and pushes us forward towards our goals despite any internal or external conflict that we may face. This is why in my High Visibility Hexagon (pictured below) I call this initial step the "Firm Foundation Framework".
#2 Not having a strategy to achieve your “why”
Once Esther established her “why” she didn’t go about networking all willy nilly, she both devised and implemented a plan of action (Esther 4:15-16). This shows us as modern women (especially in business) that if we want to be successful, we too, must have a strategy for building and leveraging profitable relationships (step 2 in the diagram above). You can click here for my juicy secrets to doing so straight into your inbox for free now!
#3 Not being an asset
It would have been easy for Esther to have approached the king with her concerns straight away- especially with it literally being a matter of life and death for her and her people- but she didn’t. Instead she threw not 1 but 2 wine banquets for him (Esther 5 and 7) knowing that, that was something that he loved. The key take-away from Esther’s example is that it’s important to give before you get. This essentially comes down to:
Building relationships before you need them
Being a good friend
This is how you take the ick out of networking like my episode of the Moms Called to More Podcast helped my girl (and one of the hosts), Keli Reese, to.
You can hear more about The Art of Networking by clicking on Keli’s testimonial (below) for our full discussion!
