3 of 5 Managing Connections/Relationships — “Keep in Touch”
Relationships matter. Period.
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We meet people all the time and in many different places.
When I say meeting someone, I mean talking to them.
You don’t always have to get their name or their background.
But realistically, you meet people on a daily basis — or at least weekly.
Of course, there are different levels of meeting someone. You might be chatting with someone at a local coffee shop or diner and that’s the end of it. Perhaps you’re beside someone on a plane and you talk for a few hours. Maybe you make a deposit at the bank and say hi to the bank teller and that’s it.
In all those situations, though, you are meeting people. You decide how much you are going to know about those people and what you are actually doing with meeting them.
Meeting Someone Important
Sometimes people fail to understand that everyone is important.
Who are you looking to connect with?
Maybe the principal of a school system in a metropolitan area as that’s one of the things that you most aspire to in your future.
So what’s the route you would take to get there?
Would you conduct a search of schools in a particular area and then try to reach out and connect with principals at those locations?
That could work.
But there’s another way.
Think about the existing network that you have. I’m confident that you know people who live in a metropolitan area — probably one very similar or the same as where you’d aspire to work. Why not ask those people if they know a principal?
Why not tap into the network that’s already existing and built and seek their guidance?
Mirroring to Gain Perspective
I strive to hold a mirror up to people when this sort of conversation comes up. They might say things like, “Oh, I don’t know anyone. Oh, I couldn’t ask them. Oh, I don’t feel comfortable.”
