I Need to Be Heeded at Work

So far in this article series, we’ve discussed:

• why the current efforts thrown at increasing the number of women leaders aren’t working
• the three problems women professionals encounter when moving up the ladder
• how women can better make themselves heard

Now, it’s time to create a real world solution so women (professional women) will not just be heard but heeded in the boardroom heeded in the boardroom.  The not-so-obvious solution:  building a powerful sphere of influence.

Don’t reduce this article to something that is simply about “networking.”  Building a sphere of influence is not the same thing as garden-variety networking at all. Largely indiscriminate, typical networking encourages us to cast our net a mile wide but an inch deep. When we do that, we don’t get the prime catch, we get other random stuff in the mix— smaller fish, a boot, used tires, etc.

There’s nothing random about building a professional sphere.

Building a professional sphere is  serious and deliberate work that has as its objective fewer but deeper relationships which you continue to nourish and cultivate throughout your career.  It is never too early to start this lifelong career strategy.

Start with where you are by answering this question:  If I were to be most deliberate in building a professional sphere, which 2 people would I begin to pursue and which 2 people will I stop pursuing or investing in?