In any leadership situation, or in fact in any area of your life, working or personal, you cannot under-estimate the importance and usefulness of networking. Your ability to establish, utilise and maintain networks could mean the difference between success or mediocrity, time management or burnout, satisfaction or stress. And a good network is also invaluable in terms of support, advice and fun. So, what is it all about, and why is it so important?

Women usually have good networks and this has been a natural way for us to share ideas and experiences. Mapping our networks, working out who is who and where they belong, is a good way of creating and maintaining community and family links, and having access to extra resources.

What is Networking?

‘Networking’ is basically how a ‘network’ operates; it is a common term in the social welfare field today, as well as in many other business areas. Networking involves talking, listening, writing, reading, lobbying, sharing, supporting, actively maintaining links, attending functions, participating in meetings, socialising, keeping up with the news and in contact with people - whatever it takes to make a network function well.

A network can be defined as an interconnected group or system of individual people and/or agencies who have a relationship or a connection through sharing common goals, interests, values or functions.

Members of a network may all provide a similar service, work with a common group of people or in the same geographical area. They may be part of club or organisation, or believe in the same philosophy, or be lobbying regarding a particular issue. They can be friends, relatives, consumers, colleagues or vague acquaintances. As you can see a network can be either formal or informal, but either way relies on effective communication between members in order to achieve desired outcomes.

You probably have a number of networks that you draw on depending on what you need or are doing. Your personal network will include friends, partners, family, etc., and can be diagrammatically represented as follows:

Take some time to map your own network, to discover the resources and information which you are able to tap into. By mapping your network, you may also identify gaps which need to be filled, or resources that you were previously not aware of.

What Makes a Good Network?

The main qualities of a good network are:

• All those involved share a common base, goal or value system, which provides the purpose for the networks existence and function.

• There is a degree of independence and autonomy (and sometimes even healthy tension) between members, but the network can also speak with one voice as required.

• The working structure of a network is open and decentralised, which can be visualised as a horizontal and informal system rather than vertical or hierarchical; leadership, responsibility and tasks are usually shared around depending on the issue at hand.

As you can see, a network is in many ways an alternative organisational structure to traditional, bureaucratic agencies; influence is quite loose and shared, not based on power, prestige or position.

A network may not even be very visible, as a lot of the work is generally carried out behind the scenes. Members provide, receive or pass on information as required and however they can - personally, by phone or mail, at meetings or when socialising. Not all members necessarily have direct contact or even know each other, though it is good to all get together sometimes.

How to Make Best use of a Network

A network can have many uses including:

• providing mutual support and encouragement

• providing information about and access to key people or organisations that can help you achieve your goals or address unmet needs

• sharing information, ideas, knowledge and skills

• promoting cooperation and coordination, and thus reducing duplication or overlap, between like services, groups, agencies, etc.

• promoting or advertising your work or plans, and improving access to your program or service

• assisting in ensuring high quality and appropriate services that meet community needs

• identifying unmet needs, raising issues, challenging attitudes, planning, developing and lobbying for better or new services as required

• ensuring social interaction and contact between network members, for both more effective work and for fun!

So, be aware of the networks that are around you, or develop them as required, and actively seek to maintain and expand them. Use your network to get better ideas, to identify issues and unmet needs, to find out information quickly and easily, to save time by drawing on the skills and knowledge and experiences of others, to get in touch with people who could help in specific areas, to find out about funding and resources, and so on.

Draw on your networks when you need advice or support or assistance or a shoulder to laugh or cry on. And use them to make yourself a better leader and person, to improve your personal skills and knowledge, and your commitment to people and the community.

By staying in touch with the real world you will be a much more useful person to all those you come in contact with, and particularly within your own networks.