Fast Company published an article titled called “The 4 People You Need For An Awesome Network” and like most stuff they put out, it was great! Here’s a taste:
“Start with the Socialite. “If you’re not actively filling the role of Happy Hour Coordinator Extraordinaire,” Augustine writes, “you should befriend whoever is–and quick.” This is the friendly neighborhood super-connector, the person who will intro you to all the people you need to know.
And within that crew, you’ll find an Older Sibling that’s yearning to be a mentor. She can help you find the supply closet, navigate office politics, and vouch for your side hustles.
Another expert you need is the IT Guru: You don’t want to be stuck hapless while waiting for the IT ticket to be resolved, Augustine observes, so you better have a tech-knowledgable colleague that you can lean on in times of buggy need.
But office friendships aren’t just take-take-take; that would be ungracious. Be on the lookout for the Helpless Newbie: If someone is more doe-eyed than you, they could probably use a kind word–which could launch a career.”
It’s a strong list and everyone should have these 4 types of folks in their ‘inner-circle’ for sure. The article did make me think about who it is I have and would recommend to other HR pros to have in their network to make themselves a better HR Pro. Here’s my list:
1. A Money Girl. The one thing you’ll need to be effective in HR is a budget that allows you to do basic blocking and tackling of the job. So often I see HR pros struggle because they can’t even fund the ‘basics’. It’s usually because they’ve gone through years of budget reduction and throwing their department on the proverbial sword. A great relationship with a peer in finance will help stop this trend and actually reverse it!
2. Nerd. Like the Fast Company article – it’s really a non-negotiable in my network – I have to have a great IT Pro on my side. Great HR takes Great IT solutions to be the most efficient and effective you can be.
3. Used Car Salesman. Most HR Pros don’t know how to make money. You need someone in your network that will help you think like a business person. Someone who will show you how to communicate like a profit center, not a cost center. It’s not that you have to actually make money, but you need to run your HR shop like you could if you had to.
4. Trusted Adviser. My last network must have is a strong relationship with a senior level executive who is not in your functional area. I love to have these people be from operations, but really any area will do. Why not your own function? You need to sometimes run ideas and things by someone at an executive who isn’t your boss – to get real feedback. Set this relationship up as a mentor and tell them it’s for your development, have regular time set on their calendar and come prepared to seek out their advice. You have no idea how this will help you down the road within your organization!
Who would you add to you must have network relationships?
Love the IT guy shoutout! Few connections have been as helpful 🙂 I also find it useful to have a friend on the corporate communications side – they tend to know the go-to folks for just about everything. Not a bad resource to have!
I’d add the Moneyball Guy. Human Captial Analytics are going to be a hot commodity, and you sure don’t want to crunch those numbers and interpret all that data yourself. You want the guy who eats, breathes, and sleeps data, and lives to awe you by finding new correlations that you can carry up to the C-Suite.
I love this list and would add someone on the legal team and a connected admin staffer. Both are so important in terms of eyes and ears in the organization.