Maggie Olson is the Founder of Nova Chief of Staff, the premier destination for Chief of Staff education and development.
In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, Maggie talks about the power of networking. She walks through a hands-on network exercise, talks about how to network practically, using your c-suite vantage point, and more.
CONNECT WITH MAGGIE
ABOUT MAGGIE
Maggie Olson is the Founder of Nova Chief of Staff, the premier destination for Chief of Staff education and development. As the first Chief of Staff to a president at a Fortune 40 company — who led a multibillion-dollar business with 5,000+ employees — Maggie built the president’s Chief of Staff model from the ground up. Maggie has 20 years’ experience leading large teams and has spent her career focused on both customer and employee experience at companies including T-Mobile, Nordstrom, and Starbucks. In addition to operating the Nova Chief of Staff Certification course, Maggie is a fractional Chief of Staff focused on helping mission-driven, for-profit startup founders scale their businesses quickly. In her spare time, Maggie loves spending time outside with her husband, their animals, and their 1-year-old, Max!
–––
THE LEADER ASSISTANT PODCAST IS PRESENTED BY NOVA CHIEF OF STAFF
Calling all Executive Assistants: Are you looking for a way to elevate your skills or earn that promotion you’ve been eyeing? Nova Chief of Staff’s online certification course provides you with the knowledge and confidence you need to stand out on the job. Whether you want to land your dream position or level up in your current role, Nova’s self-paced course gives you hands-on practice doing what Chiefs of Staff do every day.
Visit leaderassistant.com/nova to learn more and secure your spot!
–––
THE LEADER ASSISTANT PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP
To learn more about how you can join growth-minded Leader Assistants, check out our Leader Assistant Premium Membership for ongoing training, coaching, and community.
THE LEADER ASSISTANT BOOK
Download the first 3 chapters of The Leader Assistant: Four Pillars of Game-Changing Assistant for FREE here or buy it on Amazon and listen to the audiobook on Audible. Also, check out the companion study guide, The Leader Assistant Workbook, to dig deeper.
LEADER ASSISTANT LIVE EVENTS
Check out our constantly updated schedule of events for admins and assistants at LeaderAssistantLive.com.
JOIN THE FREE COMMUNITY
Join the Leader Assistant Global Community for bonus content, job opportunities, and to network with other assistants who are committed to becoming leaders!
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to The Leader Assistant Podcast so you don’t miss new episodes!
You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, and Stitcher.
Join my email list here if you want to get an email when a new episode goes live.
LEAVE A REVIEW
If you’re enjoying the podcast, please take 2 minutes to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts here. Each review helps me stay motivated to keep the show going!
—
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00.000 –> 00:00:07.180
JEREMY: Calling all Executive Assistants, are you looking for a way to elevate your skills or earn that promotion you’ve been eyeing?
00:00:08.060 –> 00:00:15.740
JEREMY: Nova Chief of Staff’s Online Certification Course provides you with the knowledge and confidence you need to stand out on the job.
00:00:16.420 –> 00:00:30.180
JEREMY: Whether you want to land your dream position or level up in your current role, Nova’s self-paced course gives you hands-on practice doing what Chiefs of Staff do every day.
00:00:30.880 –> 00:00:36.980
JEREMY: Visit leaderassistant.com/nova to learn more and secure your spot.
00:00:37.660 –> 00:00:41.380
JEREMY: That’s leaderassistant.com/nova.
00:00:41.800 –> 00:00:42.160
JEREMY: Yay.
00:00:48.559 –> 00:00:56.019
<v SPEAKER_2>The Leader Assistant podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, gain-changing, Leader Assistant.
00:01:06.585 –> 00:01:07.305
JEREMY: Howdy, friends.
00:01:07.325 –> 00:01:09.965
JEREMY: Thanks for tuning in to The Leader Assistant Podcast.
00:01:09.985 –> 00:01:13.745
JEREMY: It’s episode 262, and I’m your host, Jeremy Burrows.
00:01:13.765 –> 00:01:20.025
JEREMY: And today I’m going to be talking about The Power of Networking with my friend Maggie Olson.
00:01:20.385 –> 00:01:24.625
JEREMY: And Maggie has been on a few episodes lately.
00:01:24.645 –> 00:01:28.305
JEREMY: If you’re a regular listener, you probably recognize the name.
00:01:28.305 –> 00:01:30.645
JEREMY: If not, definitely check out our prior episodes.
00:01:31.265 –> 00:01:33.805
JEREMY: The first one was a little bit more of an intro.
00:01:42.325 –> 00:01:48.825
JEREMY: And that was episode 231, leaderassistant.com/231.
00:01:48.845 –> 00:01:54.725
JEREMY: Then Maggie talked through her Nova Chief of Staff course, episode 255.
00:01:55.725 –> 00:02:03.645
JEREMY: And then we also talked about navigating the EA and Chief of Staff relationship in episode 260.
00:02:04.205 –> 00:02:09.945
JEREMY: And then we also talked about, I skipped one, but from EA to Chief of Staff, how to level up.
00:02:10.065 –> 00:02:12.785
JEREMY: And that was episode 257.
00:02:12.785 –> 00:02:22.045
JEREMY: So lots of great topics, lots of great conversations, and definitely recommend checking out those prior conversations if you haven’t yet.
00:02:22.245 –> 00:02:28.505
JEREMY: So with that said, The Power of Networking, I’ve got a lot to say about networking today.
00:02:28.725 –> 00:02:30.605
JEREMY: And Maggie, welcome back to the show.
00:02:31.325 –> 00:02:32.025
MAGGIE: Thank you.
00:02:32.045 –> 00:02:32.645
MAGGIE: Happy to be here.
00:02:33.525 –> 00:02:35.985
JEREMY: So why don’t you just kind of jump right in then?
00:02:36.285 –> 00:02:43.385
JEREMY: And, you know, I’ll just say to kind of kick us off, though, the, you know, we met through The Power of Networking.
00:02:43.445 –> 00:03:02.585
JEREMY: And so just just being on LinkedIn, being active, putting ourselves out there, not being afraid to, you know, reach out and say hi and connect and engage with each other on LinkedIn posts or sending a DM and saying, hey, what can I do to help you?
00:03:03.065 –> 00:03:03.865
JEREMY: Things like that.
00:03:03.865 –> 00:03:07.585
JEREMY: And so it’s fun to talk about this topic since that’s how we how we met.
00:03:07.685 –> 00:03:10.045
JEREMY: And so, yeah, The Power of Networking.
00:03:10.065 –> 00:03:15.805
JEREMY: What tips and tricks and wisdom and advice do you have for assistants of the world?
00:03:16.345 –> 00:03:17.825
MAGGIE: Yeah, you know, that just brought me back.
00:03:19.425 –> 00:03:32.325
MAGGIE: I when I was creating Nova Chief of Staff and talking to my friend, Travis Rodrik, who I actually just interviewed within the course, the Nova Chief of Staff course, he said, oh, my gosh, you know who you need to get in touch with?
00:03:32.705 –> 00:03:34.645
MAGGIE: Jeremy Burrows and Maggie Jacobs.
00:03:34.665 –> 00:03:35.785
MAGGIE: They’re both authors.
00:03:35.805 –> 00:03:39.285
MAGGIE: They’re both in the Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant space.
00:03:39.305 –> 00:03:40.885
MAGGIE: Like you would just you’ve got to check them out.
00:03:41.225 –> 00:03:43.745
MAGGIE: I go to LinkedIn and look at both of your profiles.
00:03:43.765 –> 00:03:47.845
MAGGIE: And I was like, oh, my gosh, no way they are never ever going to write me back.
00:03:50.285 –> 00:04:00.405
MAGGIE: But of course, I did it anyway, because I’ve been trained to just keep trying and keep going and overcome that like a little bit of confidence lack in me.
00:04:00.685 –> 00:04:05.825
MAGGIE: And lo and behold, Jeremy and Maggie are both wonderful people and so kind and generous.
00:04:05.845 –> 00:04:09.965
MAGGIE: And Jeremy and I have now partnered on many things and we’re good friends.
00:04:10.145 –> 00:04:13.745
MAGGIE: And Maggie Jacobs, incredible too, close friend also.
00:04:13.765 –> 00:04:23.205
MAGGIE: So it is wild to think about how and we’re going to get into this, but how networking helps professionally and personally and how a lot of times they’re like very intertwined.
00:04:23.985 –> 00:04:25.285
JEREMY: Yeah, that’s great.
00:04:25.305 –> 00:04:27.965
JEREMY: And you know, you can never have too many Maggie’s in your life.
00:04:28.025 –> 00:04:32.265
<v SPEAKER_4>So, you know, hey, I’ll take it.
00:04:32.545 –> 00:04:43.125
MAGGIE: So, you know, I think that as I was thinking about how do we how do we really talk about networking, sometimes it can feel big and daunting and kind of a lot to digest.
00:04:43.205 –> 00:04:52.425
MAGGIE: So we’re going to break it into small smaller pieces and hopefully a little bit more digestible, kind of practical steps that we can each take with some examples.
00:04:52.445 –> 00:05:02.805
MAGGIE: So, you know, the kind of the first thing that I’ll talk about is networking can seem really hard when it is super general and broad.
00:05:03.485 –> 00:05:05.085
MAGGIE: Jeremy and I were both business owners.
00:05:05.885 –> 00:05:07.865
MAGGIE: I am new in the city I’m in.
00:05:07.885 –> 00:05:08.985
MAGGIE: I’m in Lincoln, Nebraska.
00:05:09.005 –> 00:05:10.705
MAGGIE: I’ve been here for about a year and a half now.
00:05:11.465 –> 00:05:24.025
MAGGIE: And thinking about going to business owner networking events and startup weeks and very broad general networking things just doesn’t do it for me.
00:05:24.105 –> 00:05:25.245
MAGGIE: I don’t enjoy it.
00:05:25.325 –> 00:05:26.665
MAGGIE: It’s daunting.
00:05:26.685 –> 00:05:28.045
MAGGIE: It feels like a lot of effort.
00:05:28.065 –> 00:05:36.425
MAGGIE: And I honestly don’t walk away with a lot from the time I put in, maybe a connection or two, but not really a lot.
00:05:36.445 –> 00:05:55.885
MAGGIE: So when I think about the kind of networking that we’re going to talk about today and we’re going to give examples around, it’s really focused on networking for the passion and the connection and the interests that you have versus just general showing up like that’s a lot harder and it’s a lot scarier.
00:05:56.385 –> 00:06:00.525
MAGGIE: Jeremy, what are your thoughts on kind of how to approach networking as a whole in that way?
00:06:02.025 –> 00:06:21.585
JEREMY: Yeah, I mean, I think part of it is a little bit about your personality and, you know, I’m an introvert and I get drained by networking too much and so it’s really about, okay, what can you handle personally and what suits your strengths and your weaknesses and how to balance that.
00:06:22.805 –> 00:06:43.745
JEREMY: But then yeah, my big thing is just in general with networking is to be a generous networker and so whether it’s personal or professional, I always like to think of, you know, hey, I’m listening to this person as I’m networking with them, as I’m connecting with them and I’m trying to figure out, okay, what’s something I can do for them?
00:06:43.765 –> 00:06:45.185
JEREMY: What’s something I can give to them?
00:06:45.205 –> 00:06:46.665
JEREMY: What’s something I can help them with?
00:06:48.005 –> 00:06:51.325
JEREMY: And it comes naturally to me as an assistant who loves helping people.
00:06:52.745 –> 00:07:03.885
JEREMY: But being a generous networker versus those kind of high ego vampire networkers that are just like trying to get something from everyone they talk to.
00:07:03.905 –> 00:07:05.985
MAGGIE: Yeah, yeah.
00:07:06.005 –> 00:07:07.785
MAGGIE: And you are a generous networker.
00:07:07.825 –> 00:07:08.805
MAGGIE: I can vouch for that.
00:07:09.245 –> 00:07:11.365
MAGGIE: Servant leadership also comes to mind.
00:07:11.385 –> 00:07:15.025
MAGGIE: We use that term a lot during my time at Nordstrom.
00:07:15.045 –> 00:07:18.945
MAGGIE: It’s really like, how are you serving the people that you’re working with?
00:07:19.625 –> 00:07:23.005
MAGGIE: If you’re a leader and people are reporting to you, are you always available?
00:07:23.025 –> 00:07:26.885
MAGGIE: Are you there for them generously in your time and consistency?
00:07:26.885 –> 00:07:35.345
MAGGIE: So I think they really go hand in hand and we will talk about how to be a generous networker, how to be that connector towards the end of this chat.
00:07:36.725 –> 00:07:44.645
MAGGIE: So we touched on a little bit around networking for the things that drive you and the passion and the connection that you’re looking for.
00:07:45.205 –> 00:07:48.725
MAGGIE: Like I said, I wasn’t into going to the startup weeks and all the things.
00:07:49.565 –> 00:07:57.165
MAGGIE: What did drive me as a consultant was meeting with a restaurant owner.
00:07:58.105 –> 00:07:59.605
MAGGIE: Gosh, what would the term be?
00:07:59.625 –> 00:08:03.445
MAGGIE: Like a general manager essentially of a whole restaurant group.
00:08:04.065 –> 00:08:10.085
MAGGIE: There’s many in Omaha, there’s many across the country and they’re a local business just down the street from Lincoln.
00:08:11.265 –> 00:08:20.925
MAGGIE: I grew up in the restaurant industry and I would love to understand and learn more about what they do in these beautiful restaurants they’re opening and maybe someday work for them as a Fractional Chief of Staff.
00:08:21.405 –> 00:08:25.465
MAGGIE: That is the kind of networking that I want to do that drives me.
00:08:25.565 –> 00:08:34.905
MAGGIE: So thinking about what is the thing that you’re passionate about and how do you connect with that versus just approaching like super broadly and generally.
00:08:35.585 –> 00:08:44.005
MAGGIE: So I think the other component here, the next step would be networking doesn’t have to be for either business or personal.
00:08:44.005 –> 00:08:49.965
MAGGIE: Like there really is that nice symbiotic relationship between the two or there can be.
00:08:49.985 –> 00:09:01.185
MAGGIE: An example for this is, I just mentioned I moved to Lincoln about a year and a half ago, and I’ve only made one other move in my life outside of my hometown of Seattle.
00:09:01.205 –> 00:09:07.365
MAGGIE: I was moved to Salt Lake City for my kind of this executive development program I was in with T-Mobile.
00:09:07.905 –> 00:09:16.265
MAGGIE: And I knew very quickly that I had to build a network of friendships and things to do and ways to stay busy because I didn’t know anybody where I was going.
00:09:16.585 –> 00:09:20.025
MAGGIE: So moving here to Lincoln, I’ve kind of done that once already.
00:09:20.145 –> 00:09:31.845
MAGGIE: And very, very quickly, I knew that I needed some support of like-minded female business owners here to build a network and build a group here in Lincoln that I felt connected to.
00:09:31.845 –> 00:09:38.185
MAGGIE: So I met with, I basically through my existing network, I reached out to a friend, Libby.
00:09:38.265 –> 00:09:47.085
MAGGIE: She connected me with Alicia, a business owner here, and Alicia runs this huge society, this group of female business owners in the space.
00:09:47.245 –> 00:09:52.305
MAGGIE: And I’ve met some of my closest friends today through this networking.
00:09:52.705 –> 00:09:56.205
MAGGIE: So it doesn’t have to be super cumbersome, super hard.
00:09:56.765 –> 00:09:59.625
MAGGIE: It doesn’t have to be just for business or just for personal.
00:09:59.645 –> 00:10:06.765
MAGGIE: I think there’s a really nice relationship between the two when you’re thinking about what you truly need and what you’re looking to match up with.
00:10:07.325 –> 00:10:08.725
JEREMY: Yeah, yeah, definitely.
00:10:08.745 –> 00:10:15.205
JEREMY: And I think that, you know, that a lot of people are like, well, they’re intimidated by it.
00:10:15.665 –> 00:10:33.585
JEREMY: And you know, I do this thing when I travel where if I’ve got an evening free, for example, while I’m traveling, I will just send out a note to assistants in the area and just say, hey, do you want to meet up and network and have a quick, casual happy hour?
00:10:34.365 –> 00:10:44.325
JEREMY: And I could like overthink it and be like, oh, well, you know, like, I’ve got to have the certain type of venue or, you know, I’ve got to make sure it’s in a certain area or whatever.
00:10:44.345 –> 00:10:50.345
JEREMY: But I try to just be like, you know, let’s just find something quick, make a decision and then just put the invite out.
00:10:50.665 –> 00:10:51.965
JEREMY: And if people want to come, they can’t.
00:10:51.985 –> 00:11:03.985
JEREMY: And you know, so it’s as an introvert in the past, I definitely was more intimidated by networking than I am now as I’ve practiced my extrovertedness a little bit more.
00:11:05.545 –> 00:11:07.605
JEREMY: But yeah, it doesn’t have to be that complicated.
00:11:07.625 –> 00:11:12.665
JEREMY: It can literally be, hey, like, like I just I sent one out today because I’m going to be in St.
00:11:12.685 –> 00:11:13.805
JEREMY: Louis for a board meeting.
00:11:14.245 –> 00:11:22.305
JEREMY: And I said, hey, if you’re going to be in around this afternoon, I went ahead and just put a calendar invite up, picked a location and invited everyone.
00:11:22.325 –> 00:11:26.725
JEREMY: And I just said, we’d love to see you if you if you can make it and, you know, just see what happens.
00:11:27.825 –> 00:11:28.785
MAGGIE: I love that.
00:11:28.805 –> 00:11:33.785
MAGGIE: Have you had some friendships and relationships that have developed outside of those meetings afterwards?
00:11:34.305 –> 00:11:35.125
JEREMY: Yeah, definitely.
00:11:35.265 –> 00:12:08.325
JEREMY: And, you know, it’s funny, because sometimes there’s, you know, two people show up, you know, and you invite 30 people and you end up having good conversations and you end up being able to help each other out or stay connected or then the next time those two people invite two other people and but yeah, it’s been, you know, some of my closest connections in the world are people that, you know, I met through these just random meetups like, hey, I’m going to be in Denver, I’m going to host a breakfast, just casual meetup.
00:12:08.705 –> 00:12:20.325
JEREMY: And now I, you know, I’m connected with several people from that meetup from four years ago that we’ve done been on my podcast, they we’ve done events together, you know, all those kinds of things.
00:12:21.265 –> 00:12:22.625
MAGGIE: It’s very, very, very cool.
00:12:23.065 –> 00:12:23.905
MAGGIE: I love that you do that.
00:12:24.845 –> 00:12:29.805
MAGGIE: So the next thing that we should talk about here is actually networking for your job.
00:12:30.565 –> 00:12:32.345
MAGGIE: Obviously it’s helpful, it’s important.
00:12:32.365 –> 00:12:35.665
MAGGIE: We’ve all heard that it’s a lot easier to get a job through networking.
00:12:35.925 –> 00:12:37.205
MAGGIE: We can chat about that a little bit.
00:12:37.225 –> 00:12:41.085
MAGGIE: But I think there’s two components here when you think about networking at work.
00:12:41.465 –> 00:12:43.985
MAGGIE: First, you’re networking for your current role.
00:12:44.305 –> 00:12:49.065
MAGGIE: So are there other people in a similar role to you at your company or at a adjacent company?
00:12:49.085 –> 00:12:55.745
MAGGIE: Are there people in roles that are similar to yours or in your atmosphere that you should be connected to and networking with?
00:12:56.645 –> 00:13:02.745
MAGGIE: If you work on an executive’s team, are you networking with all of their leaders, all the people that report to them?
00:13:02.865 –> 00:13:09.445
MAGGIE: Are you in the know about their biggest pain points and what drives them and what they’re working on?
00:13:10.065 –> 00:13:12.185
MAGGIE: So that’s networking for your current job.
00:13:12.345 –> 00:13:16.685
MAGGIE: And then there’s the component at work around networking for the job you want.
00:13:16.705 –> 00:13:28.045
MAGGIE: And this can be in your company, it can be outside of your company, but people in the C-suite, executive assistants, chiefs of staff, we have the gift of seeing a huge, a big picture of your company.
00:13:28.085 –> 00:13:30.405
MAGGIE: We can see our companies from the top down.
00:13:31.545 –> 00:13:33.905
MAGGIE: So ask yourself, like, what are you drawn to?
00:13:33.985 –> 00:13:35.085
MAGGIE: Who are you drawn to?
00:13:35.185 –> 00:13:39.365
MAGGIE: What kind of work that you’re seeing being done is interesting to you?
00:13:39.465 –> 00:13:41.665
MAGGIE: Or what are you just naturally curious about?
00:13:42.445 –> 00:13:43.725
MAGGIE: Reach out to those people.
00:13:43.765 –> 00:13:45.885
MAGGIE: People love talking about themselves.
00:13:45.905 –> 00:13:47.565
MAGGIE: They love talking about their jobs.
00:13:47.625 –> 00:13:50.465
MAGGIE: And a lot of people really love kind of teaching and showing.
00:13:51.305 –> 00:13:52.365
MAGGIE: Buy them a coffee.
00:13:52.405 –> 00:13:54.105
MAGGIE: Just have a casual Zoom.
00:13:54.645 –> 00:14:07.685
MAGGIE: I think most of the time people will say yes to those invites and you will not only gain a person in your network, but you’re going to learn a lot about what they do and potentially ways that this information can help you at work.
00:14:09.885 –> 00:14:10.365
JEREMY: Well said.
00:14:11.325 –> 00:14:15.625
MAGGIE: And most of the jobs that I’ve gotten have probably been through networking.
00:14:15.985 –> 00:14:19.505
MAGGIE: I can think of two just off the top of my head while I was at Nordstrom.
00:14:19.785 –> 00:14:31.325
MAGGIE: A couple leaders I’d worked in the same kind of atmosphere environment in or I’d interviewed with for a different job and didn’t get and kept in touch with them.
00:14:31.665 –> 00:14:36.525
MAGGIE: And both of those relationships ended up in great promotions, great jobs for me.
00:14:37.145 –> 00:14:44.685
MAGGIE: I also networked into the Chief of Staff role that I was in at T-Mobile through keeping a relationship with the C-suite team members that I knew.
00:14:45.445 –> 00:14:45.725
JEREMY: Yeah.
00:14:45.745 –> 00:15:00.505
JEREMY: I mean, I’m pretty sure all my jobs I’ve ever gotten, even my first real job at Walmart, someone we knew put in a word, put my name down or put their name down on my reference or whatever.
00:15:01.105 –> 00:15:14.965
JEREMY: And then my first job outside of Walmart, I knew someone and then my current job, I was in between jobs, didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I wanted to help assistants and help executives with assistants.
00:15:16.005 –> 00:15:21.965
JEREMY: And so I reached out to this guy that I knew and was like, Hey, I’m thinking about starting this coaching business.
00:15:22.505 –> 00:15:25.485
JEREMY: You have assistance, I’d love to get your ideas.
00:15:26.465 –> 00:15:38.965
JEREMY: And that ended up being the guy that hired me like six months later as hire number one at capacity and, you know, seven years later, I’m still supporting him.
00:15:39.025 –> 00:15:41.745
JEREMY: And so yeah, it’s networking is definitely powerful.
00:15:43.305 –> 00:15:44.045
MAGGIE: I love that.
00:15:44.065 –> 00:15:50.965
MAGGIE: Okay, well, we’re going to chat briefly about, you know, not only like what is a networker, but what’s a connector kind of that next step.
00:15:51.345 –> 00:16:00.425
MAGGIE: And then I have an exercise that I’ll share with the folks listening that you can do it straight out of our Nova Chief of Staff course that you can do at home that I’ll walk you through.
00:16:00.425 –> 00:16:04.325
MAGGIE: So when we think about being a connector, what does that mean?
00:16:04.345 –> 00:16:10.325
MAGGIE: I found a little bit of information that I’m going to share from vault.com about Malcolm Gladwell.
00:16:10.345 –> 00:16:12.425
MAGGIE: So that name is probably not too new to everybody.
00:16:13.145 –> 00:16:22.045
MAGGIE: But essentially, author Malcolm Gladwell popularized the term connector in his book, The Tipping Quaint, and defined the word as someone who knows many people.
00:16:22.725 –> 00:16:30.005
MAGGIE: But Wikipedia describes connectors as people in the community who know large numbers of people and who are in the habit of making introductions.
00:16:30.505 –> 00:16:34.805
MAGGIE: A connector is essentially the social equivalent of a computer network hub.
00:16:35.165 –> 00:16:45.165
MAGGIE: Connectors usually know people across an array of social, cultural, professional, and economic circles and make a habit of introducing people who work or live in different circles.
00:16:45.585 –> 00:16:50.025
MAGGIE: So in any case, you haven’t seen a good networker until you’ve met a connector.
00:16:50.385 –> 00:16:58.805
MAGGIE: And this person is somebody who everyone seems to know and never stands with two people without introducing them to each other.
00:16:58.825 –> 00:17:00.585
MAGGIE: I’m sure we can think of those people in our lives.
00:17:01.265 –> 00:17:05.905
MAGGIE: And a connector is always thinking about how to help other people in their network.
00:17:06.365 –> 00:17:10.325
MAGGIE: When you are a connector, your network builds.
00:17:10.345 –> 00:17:16.845
MAGGIE: When you’re a connector, you are a better networker and vice versa if you’re doing both activities.
00:17:16.865 –> 00:17:16.965
JEREMY: Activities.
00:17:16.985 –> 00:17:16.985
JEREMY: Peace.
00:17:22.402 –> 00:17:24.982
MAGGIE: Are you ready to elevate your career in 2024?
00:17:25.922 –> 00:17:33.602
MAGGIE: I’m Maggie Olson, founder of Nova Chief of Staff Certification, the first of its kind online course for aspiring and existing Chiefs of Staff.
00:17:34.222 –> 00:17:45.742
MAGGIE: With curriculum taken directly from on-the-job responsibilities, Nova’s self-paced learning modules provides you with hands-on experience so you can feel competent and confident moving into a Chief of Staff style role.
00:17:46.422 –> 00:17:48.662
MAGGIE: It’s the perfect next step for executive assistants.
00:17:49.402 –> 00:17:54.422
MAGGIE: Head to leaderassistant.com/nova to learn more, grab the syllabus and enroll today.
00:17:54.442 –> 00:18:09.282
JEREMY: Yeah, and it’s kind of the cheesy cliché saying everybody always says is, your net worth is your network or your network is your net worth, but it’s so true.
00:18:10.342 –> 00:18:10.962
MAGGIE: I love that.
00:18:10.982 –> 00:18:16.142
MAGGIE: Yeah, it’s like, do you have a person to call for this question or that or this need or that?
00:18:16.162 –> 00:18:18.242
MAGGIE: Are you a person someone reaches out to?
00:18:18.262 –> 00:18:22.702
MAGGIE: And if not, how can you put yourself in a situation to be a resource for others?
00:18:23.642 –> 00:18:24.322
JEREMY: Yeah.
00:18:24.342 –> 00:18:34.242
JEREMY: And one other thing I thought of was, I’ve talked about this before, but John Acuff, author, speaker, John Acuff, he talks about this idea called the career savings account.
00:18:34.982 –> 00:18:40.902
JEREMY: And not just, oh, you got to financially save up and invest and whatever so that you have money later, whatever.
00:18:41.362 –> 00:18:43.702
JEREMY: But there’s actually a career savings account.
00:18:44.082 –> 00:18:53.882
JEREMY: And part of investing into your career savings account is being a generous networker, building relationships, maintaining relationships.
00:18:54.142 –> 00:19:03.522
JEREMY: And these things that you’re that you do with networking is you’re actually making deposits into your career savings account.
00:19:03.542 –> 00:19:05.362
JEREMY: So I always thought that was a cool way to think about it.
00:19:05.862 –> 00:19:07.622
MAGGIE: Yeah, that is a cool way to think about it.
00:19:08.382 –> 00:19:08.782
MAGGIE: All right.
00:19:08.802 –> 00:19:09.862
MAGGIE: So great.
00:19:10.022 –> 00:19:11.762
MAGGIE: We think networking is important.
00:19:11.782 –> 00:19:16.182
MAGGIE: Now, how do we figure out who is in our network or where to start?
00:19:16.842 –> 00:19:25.102
MAGGIE: I know there’s a lot of people out there, especially post-COVID, who were thinking, gosh, I used to be really good at networking, but I don’t even know, do I even have a network anymore?
00:19:25.522 –> 00:19:29.962
MAGGIE: So this exercise is straight from our Nova Chief of Staff certification course.
00:19:30.902 –> 00:19:32.462
MAGGIE: You can do this right now.
00:19:32.482 –> 00:19:37.982
MAGGIE: You can pause and grab a piece of paper or just save this episode and come back to it.
00:19:38.022 –> 00:19:44.462
MAGGIE: But what I want you to do is take 20 or 30 minutes and really reflect on your professional network.
00:19:45.162 –> 00:19:46.602
MAGGIE: I’ll walk you through some steps here.
00:19:47.162 –> 00:19:52.282
MAGGIE: What you’re going to do is create a diagram that’s essentially your network bubble.
00:19:52.402 –> 00:19:54.482
MAGGIE: This can be done just with pen and paper.
00:19:54.502 –> 00:19:58.942
MAGGIE: If you love to design on computer, you can totally do that too, but by hand also is fine.
00:19:59.862 –> 00:20:06.022
MAGGIE: First thing you’re going to do is, bigger paper, the better, draw a circle in the middle of your page and put your name in it.
00:20:07.122 –> 00:20:16.662
MAGGIE: Now, this is where the reflection comes in and don’t rush yourself here, but start to imagine your network of people that could potentially be professional resources to you.
00:20:16.682 –> 00:20:19.142
MAGGIE: Here are some prompts to think through.
00:20:20.202 –> 00:20:28.902
MAGGIE: School contacts, professors, et cetera, maybe back when you were in school or if you are in school currently or you’re in courses or classes, who are those people?
00:20:28.962 –> 00:20:35.062
MAGGIE: You’re going to start to put bubbles around your first circle with your name in it for every person that you’re thinking of.
00:20:35.622 –> 00:20:44.402
MAGGIE: And the closest people to your name bubble are the people that you think of first, those kind of early and strong connections in your life.
00:20:44.842 –> 00:20:47.422
MAGGIE: And then you’ll create a map that goes outward.
00:20:47.422 –> 00:20:50.862
MAGGIE: So starting to think about your school contacts, professors, et cetera.
00:20:50.982 –> 00:21:01.842
MAGGIE: The next prompt would be neighbors, community contacts, organization affiliations like volunteering, church, outreach, sports.
00:21:03.082 –> 00:21:07.782
MAGGIE: If you start to reflect and you spend some time doing this, your network is getting bigger and bigger.
00:21:08.542 –> 00:21:10.242
MAGGIE: Think about where you work right now.
00:21:10.662 –> 00:21:13.082
MAGGIE: Think about your previous work contacts.
00:21:13.642 –> 00:21:15.262
MAGGIE: Pull up LinkedIn if you need to.
00:21:15.342 –> 00:21:20.502
MAGGIE: Start adding bubbles and grow that network map wider and wider.
00:21:21.242 –> 00:21:25.702
MAGGIE: Think through parents, family members, family friends.
00:21:26.002 –> 00:21:32.562
MAGGIE: Keep that thought around professional resources for you since this is a bit of a professional networking exercise.
00:21:33.142 –> 00:21:42.302
MAGGIE: Then think about your mentors, your friends, and anybody else that you could possibly turn to from a professional resource standpoint.
00:21:42.322 –> 00:21:52.382
MAGGIE: Again, put your closest contacts in the bubble that’s closest to your name in the center, but create bubbles for everyone that you can think of.
00:21:54.302 –> 00:22:05.042
MAGGIE: Now, once you’ve created this, and it’s probably going to be a bit of a working process, you might go cook some dinner, go to bed, and think of a few more people.
00:22:05.082 –> 00:22:05.582
MAGGIE: That’s fine.
00:22:05.602 –> 00:22:06.542
MAGGIE: Totally add to it.
00:22:07.382 –> 00:22:12.222
MAGGIE: But when you come back to it and look at it again, do a little bit more reflecting.
00:22:12.582 –> 00:22:14.802
MAGGIE: Did you think that your network was this size?
00:22:15.602 –> 00:22:20.062
MAGGIE: What areas of your network map do you think that you want to grow your network in?
00:22:20.922 –> 00:22:25.542
MAGGIE: Are there specific people in your network that you want to be more proactive about keeping in touch with?
00:22:25.562 –> 00:22:28.402
MAGGIE: Some ah-hahs that came up like, oh my gosh, that’s such a good one.
00:22:28.422 –> 00:22:33.582
MAGGIE: I can’t believe I didn’t realize this right away, but I actually really want to be in touch with this person.
00:22:34.602 –> 00:22:40.402
MAGGIE: And then finally, are there certain people in your network that you could reach out to for professional opportunities?
00:22:40.942 –> 00:22:42.562
MAGGIE: So that’s kind of the reflection piece.
00:22:42.862 –> 00:22:43.822
MAGGIE: You could write these down.
00:22:43.842 –> 00:22:47.622
MAGGIE: And in our course, I asked for a couple of paragraph reflection answering these questions.
00:22:47.902 –> 00:22:50.622
MAGGIE: You can just kind of think about it, write it down if it’s helpful to you.
00:22:51.082 –> 00:22:54.222
MAGGIE: And then I think the final step, Jeremy, is take some action.
00:22:54.602 –> 00:23:02.462
MAGGIE: Just like Jeremy said, I’m probably not quite as introverted as Jeremy, but I’m a little bit, you know, probably a little more extroverted, but slightly introverted.
00:23:02.482 –> 00:23:08.242
MAGGIE: It can be difficult to take the action, but through action comes confidence.
00:23:08.262 –> 00:23:10.602
MAGGIE: I think Adam Grant posted about this recently.
00:23:10.622 –> 00:23:26.382
MAGGIE: We’re in early February right now, and that’s actually why I built my Chief of Staff Certification course this way is because through practice and action, we build confidence, make the first phone call, send the first email, ask someone to coffee or a virtual Zoom.
00:23:26.582 –> 00:23:39.982
MAGGIE: It will start feeling easier, but check out your network map, take some action, reflect and just continue that activity and you will turn into a great networker and you can focus on being an awesome connector as well.
00:23:41.442 –> 00:23:49.202
JEREMY: That’s a great exercise and I think that a lot of people are going to be surprised by how many people they’re connected with and how big their network is.
00:23:49.622 –> 00:24:01.322
JEREMY: But then I do think there might be some people who are a little underwhelmed and maybe thinking maybe that’s a challenge to get themselves out into the world a little bit more.
00:24:01.462 –> 00:24:11.402
JEREMY: And you know, the simple, there’s a simple tactic you can use even on LinkedIn where you just search if you’re an executive assistant listening and you want to connect with other executive assistants.
00:24:11.902 –> 00:24:18.942
JEREMY: You type in the search executive assistants and then you can filter by city and title and all that.
00:24:19.002 –> 00:24:31.742
JEREMY: And so you could have a list of hundreds of assistants within 30 minutes of you pop up on LinkedIn and you can just reach out to them and say, hey, I’m an assistant in the area.
00:24:32.762 –> 00:24:33.982
JEREMY: I would love to connect.
00:24:34.322 –> 00:24:35.082
JEREMY: It’s that simple.
00:24:35.622 –> 00:24:36.722
MAGGIE: Yeah, I love that.
00:24:36.742 –> 00:24:38.082
MAGGIE: And I know I’m speaking for Jeremy, too.
00:24:38.102 –> 00:24:43.562
MAGGIE: But if you are in Kansas City or Lincoln and you want to connect with us, please feel free to send us a note.
00:24:43.982 –> 00:24:46.042
MAGGIE: I’m working on building my local network here, too.
00:24:47.462 –> 00:24:47.862
JEREMY: Awesome.
00:24:47.962 –> 00:24:48.342
JEREMY: Awesome.
00:24:48.802 –> 00:24:57.562
JEREMY: Well, Maggie, do you have any stories or networking fails?
00:24:57.882 –> 00:25:19.002
JEREMY: Do you have any networking fails that you want to share or I know I’m kind of putting you on the spot, but I was just thinking about like, you know, there’s always those awkward moments or those times when maybe you weren’t as generous as you should have been or you tried to introduce someone to someone and it just totally bombed and it was a terrible introduction.
00:25:20.702 –> 00:25:22.562
JEREMY: Anyway, so I’m putting you on the spot right there.
00:25:22.922 –> 00:25:23.902
MAGGIE: Oh, my gosh.
00:25:24.182 –> 00:25:39.922
MAGGIE: You know, it is hard to think of an example like a beautiful example, but I will say the thing that came to mind is not getting any response when you do reach out to someone and how hard that can be and how it can be like, okay, I’m never doing this again.
00:25:39.942 –> 00:25:41.022
MAGGIE: That was awful.
00:25:41.302 –> 00:25:44.242
MAGGIE: And kind of like a little bit of a confidence bruise.
00:25:44.982 –> 00:25:46.422
MAGGIE: And that absolutely happens.
00:25:46.442 –> 00:25:47.582
MAGGIE: That happens to me all the time.
00:25:48.382 –> 00:25:58.962
MAGGIE: It also happens where I’m really excited about networking with someone and here I am like ready to tell them everything about myself or listen to them and they just clearly could care less.
00:25:58.982 –> 00:26:01.802
MAGGIE: They’re on the call, but like they maybe they shouldn’t have been.
00:26:02.162 –> 00:26:04.062
MAGGIE: They really don’t want to learn anything about you.
00:26:04.082 –> 00:26:05.802
MAGGIE: And they’re just not that generous person.
00:26:05.822 –> 00:26:08.062
MAGGIE: I’ve had a few interactions like that.
00:26:08.122 –> 00:26:09.982
MAGGIE: That can also hurt and kind of suck.
00:26:10.002 –> 00:26:12.142
MAGGIE: But I don’t know.
00:26:12.162 –> 00:26:20.162
MAGGIE: We just got to keep going is my lesson there because you meet people like Jeremy Burrows and Maggie Jacobs and it’s all worth it from there.
00:26:20.922 –> 00:26:28.042
JEREMY: Yeah, I always try to remind myself, listen, you know, and I talk about this a lot with regards to our job as assistants.
00:26:28.062 –> 00:26:41.302
JEREMY: But, you know, when you’re networking, if you go into a networking situation, trying to get affirmation and validation and approval from that other person, then it’s just not going to go well.
00:26:42.822 –> 00:26:49.742
JEREMY: And so reminding yourself that, hey, you know what, I’m a valuable human being no matter how this interaction goes.
00:26:50.182 –> 00:27:00.122
JEREMY: That really helps ground me and helps me, you know, just move on and not take things personally when an interaction is go sour.
00:27:00.762 –> 00:27:01.982
MAGGIE: Yeah, I love that.
00:27:02.002 –> 00:27:02.762
MAGGIE: That’s great advice.
00:27:04.502 –> 00:27:04.942
JEREMY: Awesome.
00:27:04.962 –> 00:27:07.642
JEREMY: Well, Maggie, this is a great conversation.
00:27:07.662 –> 00:27:09.822
JEREMY: I could talk about networking forever.
00:27:11.322 –> 00:27:13.802
JEREMY: But let’s yeah, let’s wrap it up.
00:27:13.922 –> 00:27:17.222
JEREMY: We’ll talk more about other topics soon.
00:27:17.242 –> 00:27:23.742
JEREMY: We’ll probably talk about networking in one of our other conversations coming soon as well.
00:27:23.902 –> 00:27:35.462
JEREMY: But definitely, if you’re listening, check out Maggie on LinkedIn and Nova Chief of Staff and you can go to leaderassistant.com/nova to check out her course.
00:27:37.002 –> 00:27:40.962
JEREMY: And yeah, we’re excited about more conversations and more chats.
00:27:41.762 –> 00:27:44.782
JEREMY: And for those of you listening, good luck networking.
00:27:45.642 –> 00:27:46.802
JEREMY: Good luck with that exercise.
00:27:46.822 –> 00:27:48.022
MAGGIE: Send us your success stories.
00:27:50.322 –> 00:27:51.122
JEREMY: Ping us on LinkedIn.
00:27:51.142 –> 00:27:51.922
JEREMY: We’d love to hear from you.
00:27:52.482 –> 00:27:58.422
JEREMY: And if you’re wanting to check out the show notes, you can go to leaderassistant.com/262.
00:27:58.922 –> 00:28:01.142
JEREMY: So thanks again, Maggie, and we’ll talk soon.
00:28:01.542 –> 00:28:02.022
MAGGIE: Thank you.
00:28:12.623 –> 00:28:15.143
<v SPEAKER_2>Please review on Apple Podcasts.
00:28:21.738 –> 00:28:23.518
<v SPEAKER_2>goburrows.com.
