In one line: Networking is building useful relationships before you need them, by staying current, showing up, and helping others connect. It is not collecting favors from strangers.
Core idea
Networking has a bad reputation among engineers. It sounds like aggressively using people, something only for extroverts, or only for job hunting. The course defines it differently: discovering and using connections between people, exchanging information, and cultivating relationships that are good for everyone involved. The most effective networkers ask how can I help? before they ask what’s in it for me? [1].
Ibarra and Hunter’s study of managers stepping into leadership [2] identifies three kinds of network:
| Network | Purpose | Where to build it |
|---|---|---|
| Operational | get today’s work done | the people who can block or support your projects |
| Personal | develop yourself; referrals and outside perspective | alumni groups, professional societies, clubs, communities |
| Strategic | see future priorities and win support for them | peers and leaders in other functions and business units |
New leaders usually have a strong operational network, but they often neglect the strategic one, and that is what leadership roles need most.
How it works
The course lays out a progression for becoming relevant:
- Stay current. Subscribe to newsletters and news feeds in your industry, and know what is happening with your company’s competitors and technologies.
- Get out of the office. Attend at least one seminar, meetup or conference in your field, in person or virtually.
- Become a connector. Notice non-obvious links between people and introduce them. Being current gives you something to offer in every conversation.
Habits that make it work [1]:
- Start before you need anything. People sense desperation.
- Know what you can offer: skills, knowledge, connections.
- Treat everyone as valuable, regardless of title.
- Close with an offer of help, and follow through on every promised introduction.
The basic tools are an updated professional profile, business cards, and a practiced Elevator Pitch. The course’s semester-long target: add at least ten new professional contacts, and record how each connection came about.
In practice
The course’s examples show how networks pay off unexpectedly. A coaching contact, a former classmate or a conference acquaintance turns up years later as a referral, a hire or a guest speaker. The shared lesson is that the value of a network can’t be planned. It comes from many small, genuine connections, kept up over time.
Networking is also one of the boundary-crossing skills of a T-Shaped Professional. Being deep in one discipline is what makes you useful. Being connected across many is what makes you effective.
Questions to ask yourself
- Which of my three networks, operational, personal or strategic, is weakest?
- When did I last introduce two people who could help each other?
- Who outside my function would I call to understand where the business is heading?
Connections
- Tools: Elevator Pitch, Informational Interviews. The stretch goal: Bagging the Elephant.
- Why it matters: T-Shaped Professional, Influence Without Authority. Mapping the organization: Political Mapping.
- Capabilities exercised: Interpersonal Skills, Connecting Across Disciplines, Initiative, Trust and Loyalty.
Sources
- Ibarra and Hunter, “How leaders create and use networks” [2]
- Vest, “How to network the right way” [1]
- Course lecture on networking; no public source.