Can Networking be a Team Sport? Featuring Lorna Helps
Networking can be a team sport.
Were you ever a part of a sports team as a kid or in band?
I dipped my toes in both. You could often catch me running to basketball practice with my saxophone case in tow or showing up to basketball practice in my cheer skirt.
Don’t be judgy -- I was trying to figure out my interests as a kiddo. Oh, and Cheerleading is A SPORT. Don’t hate on it.
The common thread between all of my interests was that of a team.
I didn’t love ALL of my teammates but I respected them and their individual talents that they brought to the table.
While I didn’t ever make it to the WNBA or even get a college scholarship for my talents, I did learn a lot about the structure of teams.
Meaning, teamwork helps people develop specialised skills, so that the best person for each task can do it better and faster.
I was never the leading scorer on a team, but I had endurance that would last forever and I could defend anyone. I left the scoring to the All-Star player and they left the defending to me. Win win.
But how does a team work in a networking situation? Isn’t networking a solo type sport like marathon running or BMX riding?
To help me answer these questions, I've invited my good friend on the show.
Her name is Lorna Helps. Lorna is a master team builder, ex Proctor and Gamble gal, and she can make your wildest pottery dreams come true. Her company is called Vibrant Thinking and her mission is to empower teams to transform the workplace.
She is going to help us bust through 3 Myths about Networking as Team.
Networking is for the individual.
Networking is only for sales teams.
A team must network equally for it to be fair.
She's going to walk us through each myth to identify how networking can be used as a team sport so that you can use them to connect on a deeper level with each of your team members or your teammates.
As we go through each myth, think about how this can be applied to your situation.
Maybe you manage a team and have asked them to network but they aren’t clear on what to do, and little results have been seen.
Or maybe you are on a team and have been asked to network and feel like this task is a little ambiguous because there is a lack of direction.
Wherever you are in your journey I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!
You can find Lorna's deets below:
2. Vibrant Thinking's Facebook Page
3. Vibrant Thinking's Instagram Page
4. Template to cut Zoom meetings in 1/2
Here is a link to the quiz that was mentioned: