The most valuable asset you have may be your network.
I am constantly amazed by the power that is just a click away. Really smart, accomplished, and helpful people are in my network.
Lots of them.
We help each other out all the time. Sometimes it’s a quick answer to a specific question. Sometimes we ponder more profound choices.
But always we help each other in a meaningful and efficient way.
You probably have a great network too.
In fact, I bet you helped or got help from someone this week. If not this week, you might have been involved in an exchange, big or small, in the last month. And certainly this has happened at least a few times over the past year.
When that happens, you might think about how good it would be if that happened more often.
You probably like helping people. And you probably like getting help from someone you know, like, and trust. That’s why we all cherish our networks.
You might also feel like you don’t interact with them enough. Maybe you wish that you kept in touch better or that people reached out to you more often.
There are a few simple ways to make those wishes come true.
Social media is not perfect, but there is a real haven for professional networking that really is pretty great: LinkedIn.
What if you became just a little more active on that platform?
Sure, you can update your profile photo, tweak your summary, and add your latest job description. And that’s all worth doing.
But what if you spent a little time browsing the stream of posts?
You might see some interesting things that your colleagues have shared. Maybe they’ve written an article.
Take the time to browse and read and make sure you know what some of your contacts are up to. You can also easily click the like button or comment on their post.
That’s a nice way for you to be visible to each other, at least a little bit.
You could also browse through your contacts.
That simple action alone will remind you of many of the great people you know. Even better, endorse them for a skill you know they are great at. It’s another simple way to share a brief and informal acknowledgement.
To go a little further, you could share something of interest.
You could share a link to something interesting that you read recently. That will gain you some visibility across your contacts. And it will share a bit about what you’re into at the moment.
Of course, you could go a little further and write a post.
A short sentence or two would be nice, or you could write a little article. Sharing your thoughts, ideas, and insights can go a long way toward reminding people of the sort of value that you can offer.
My point is simply this: you can make good inroads to keeping your network “warm,” to reconnecting with colleagues, and to being seen a little more clearly by taking some small and simple actions.
Too often we think of social media as “all or nothing.” We think we are either an absolute master of the platform or that we should pretty much avoid it altogether.
And many platforms can be a little unwieldy and intimidating. But LinkedIn is not one of those platforms.
LinkedIn is where your professional network resides. It is the single best place you have to cultivate connections.
Why not put a little more into it?
Browse, for sure. But endorse, like, comment, and share too.
A little activity will go a long way toward keeping you better connected to one of your most valuable resources.
