So much is said of networking, its importance and its value.  Many times it is referred to almost as priority number one.  Some treat it as if there is nothing more important than to know and be known.

Typically, when I attend a networking event, my goal is to find at least one follow up action item.  The more follow up action items I leave with the better the event was for me.  Seemingly, if I can find at least one nugget of value, it was worth it.

Now that my network has grown and events I attend are populated with more people that I already know, revisiting those relationships becomes a goal in and of itself.  Another goal that grows out of this scenario is to make introductions between people I know that may not know each other yet.

However, through all this I have discovered that there is a network inside of all this that truly matters most.  That is the network of friends and advisors that can restore me and speak life.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have a whole list of people that fall into this category.  This is even a growing list.  Some of these individuals work with me on a daily basis.  Others I get so see less often, but have been very intentional about maintaining the relationship.

The incredible part is that the relationships are strong enough that even if we do not see each other often, we can pick right back up where we left off very quickly.  It is also very freeing because a mutual level of trust exists that our friendship exists for the purpose of building each other up.  Sometimes they pour into me and sometimes it is the reverse.  Either way, it comes from a place of pure intentions.  This is not a network that exists for the purpose of career development or business development, though some of those things may occur.  The friendships exist as friendships first and out of that relationship positive outcomes grow.

So maybe this is a way of saying networking is one of the single most important things you can do as a leader.  Maybe it just isn’t the ‘who you know, rise to the top’ network we have been taught we need.