So I'm here to talk about networking. Um But really, this is a conversation about success and confidence and well, the factors that lead to achieving success.And when I say success, I'm meaning success is defined by you and becoming confident because confidence is something well, you work at, it's not something you were born with or have or don't have. Now, we've got 20 minutes in this session to share a lot of information. And my main goal in our 20 minutes together that we have together is to ignite your interest, to learn more and to spark you into self action. And that's what that handout is for. So, who am I? Uh I am gonna give you a very brief one line intro. I'm Kelly Holey. I'm the author of this book, Build Your Dream Network Forging Powerful Relationships in a hyper connected world. With that brief intro. Let's dive into this topic. There are three factors which appear to distinct successful women from everyone else. Focus grit and networks. Your individual effort is really important, but equally your success requires and depends on community. My journey into researching this topic of the network's women need because there's, this is what we're here to talk about.

Didn't start with the many times I was asked during the book tour for this book, I was asked many, many times about the differences between how men and women, how men and women network. But this is not a gulf versus spas conversation. And my interest in this topic didn't begin when I was president of a global business network for women or when I was building out the women's initiative for a international law firm. Rather it all started when I was contacted by Good Morning America to give them some commentary on some rather interesting research results from a networking study out of Northwestern University. And this particular social science research was looking at the composition of women's social networks and how it predicted strongly predicted placement of the women in this leadership program into leadership positions. And that one study, that particular study toppled me down a rabbit hole of research that well, I have yet to crawl out of. But there's a definite pattern emerging across a variety of, of industries, uh and women at different career stages. So from women in MB A programs to women in top roles in higher education, to women entrepreneurs, to women in technology as well. So I want to illustrate how these three factors essential and I'm gonna stress that essential for women's success come into play.

I want to talk to you about Doctor Natasha Behi. Doctor Bhima is a weapons of mass destruction expert for most of her 20 year career. She has spent her time working for the Department of Defense at the National Defense University. She also spent three years at the Pentagon now as an independent consultant on national security issues and the founder of a company and her company is focused on developing creative content with a nuclear security impact. She's hitting the road. Yeah, you heard that right? Hitting the road for 365 days in a camper with her two dogs to visit three. I'm sorry, 65 historical and current sites of the US nuclear weapons complex. It's called Road uh Radioactive Road Trip and R and R for sure. It's a travelogue show and the aim of it is to stimulate conversation and empower action by ordinary people. It is self funded. She sold her home to make R and R happen. Let's talk about focus and grit as for networks that I imagine Doctor Behe is tapping into beyond obvious ones of her work, education policy directorships. Plus if you look at her profile, she's worked in California DC, Texas. So there's geography she's had since at the UN. So there's probably some, you know, global networks. Here's some other networks I imagine she could, could be because I don't know, Doctor Beheer personally, she could be tapping into to reach her R and R goals first.

There's readers of her fiction book and I'm gonna guess that the network that taps into her skills as an independent consultant on national security issues likely looks a little different than the audience who seeks out her suspenseful action packed stories set in the future featuring strong female protagonists probably looks a lot different than the Pentagon.

Then there is well, an issues focused community who has been introduced to her thought leadership and work because of social media channels, Facebook, youtube, medium, Twitter. Then let's think about a third network. She could be tapping into those who have hired her over her 20 year career.

Plus the funders and foundations she's worked with in the past. Hm, let's also remember there's an expert she's collaborated with on those projects and I did mention she has two dogs. So perhaps there's a community of dog owners as well that are gonna be paying attention to what she's doing or maybe what the dogs are up to anyway. So I came across Dr Behe because of a webinar and not one I had signed up for rather, I was looking over the shoulder of a friend who I was staying with one weekend. She's a brand strategist and lo and behold, she works with organizations seeking to reshape the conversation around nuclear proliferation. So what's the big women and networking success lesson on all this? First off, you need to be laser focused on what career goals you're pursuing and why you're pursuing them. It's a challenge to pursue anything when you don't really know why you're doing it or you're not fully passionately committed to it. Your personal career goals could be intensely value based values based like like Doctor Brahima. But your goals could be as simple as and important as paying your bills or saving for your, for your first home or second home or qualifying for career retirement.

I am not making any value judgments as to the why of your career goal or goals. The point is that clarity of your goal is the fuel for grit, which as I shared at the beginning of this presentation and this talk is the second factor in the success factors for, for women and grit is the determination to keep going no matter what because you know what your goal is.

Now as for networks, we all have networks and our networks have networks. Let me repeat that we all have networks and our networks have networks. They are the networks we tap into regularly and then there's the people we text with frequently. Plus. Yeah, let's all admit there's communities that we have to join because we're told it's good for our career. And what's really essential for all of us as ambitious career, women is to look at our networks a little more critically to ensure that we're not just busy networking, but we have the network structure needed to support our career efficients. So what is the network structure of successful women, you know, big drum roll here. It's briefly, it's two networks that work together in tandem. One is an inner cohort of like minded women or predominantly women who have diverse non overlapping networks. The second network is centrality and visibility within larger professional networks. Let's talk about the inter cohort. This is that network that provides insider information based on personal and direct experience. And it's the network that gives you guidance based on relatable and relevant personal experience.

Plus, because I said they had to be like-minded and diverse that inner cohort they give you, you don't want to mirror that you don't want their network to mirror your network. You gain access to decision makers and opportunities which were previously out of reach through that inner cohort as they have direct access. That second network is the source of publicly available information that is often far reaching and disjointed. And it's the network that's filled with pocket of ideas.

But you need to be able to reach into that vast range of hidden opportunities. It's the networks that composed of people, you know, maybe less well and not so deeply, but they need to know who you are and you need to be able to quickly access that information to achieve your goals, which is why centrality and visibility within public information flows is essential and it's what it provides.

Let's go back to Doctor Behi. I strongly suspect there are a few close trusted friends that she must have reached out to, to say something along the lines of, am I crazy to sell my home, buy a camper, travel the country, visiting nuclear weapon sites with my two dogs to save the earth. She probably had some close girlfriends she talked to about that and whether crazy or not she decided to do that to do to pursue this. She then must have kicked in her other networks that would have provided connections, suggestions, access insights, things she hadn't thought of.

Um You know, and then use all the other tools such as social media to access all these people. So can you see how these networks kind of weave and work in tandem together? Um So with the limited rest of the time we have together, I've already shared the link um to get you thinking about what are the networks you have? Where are you focusing your energy? Um You guys get to think of critical, like ask some critical questions about where you're spending your networking time and what you're doing. You'll also see in that handout. I've included a link to some original research that I am doing on this topic of the networks women need and I'd love for you to contribute. It will get you thinking deeply about the network. You already have the ones you're not tapping into, the ones you should be tapping into. Um and where you can be and should be get clarity on where you should be expanding your networking focus so that you're doing it in this strategic smart focused way. That seems to be the hallmark of successful women that handout also has my contact information. So by doing the survey, downloading that handout you and I will be able to expand uh our networks uh and network together.

So there were some of the main things I really wanted to get out in this time and I see my friend, Angel is here. Um And um thank you Angel for being here from, from Maryland. Um For those who had join in after I started the presentation. If you scroll up about women tech support, you'll see the handout. And in doing that, I see Tammy Ellen uh te in New York City. Good morning. How are you? I think we have around seven minutes together. Um And um and I'm just looking at, as I pause, I'm looking at the chat. Um uh The survey is ROTA. The survey is a link in the handout, let me. Um And there's a handout again. Thank you very much, Jen. If you go to that PDF handout, you will find a link uh to the network's women needs survey because this research uh on the structure of the network that the women are tapping into, not just the busy work of networking is really intriguing to me. And I kind of look at this like baking a cake, you could just kind of go into your kitchen, grab things out of the um shelf, you know, throw it in a bowl, throw it in the oven and hope you get a cake or someone could give you a recipe. And this amazing amount of research that I'm now consuming that again, it's not confined to one industry. It's not confined to one point in women's careers.

But now seeing this across different timelines in different industries that if this is the recipe for success for or this seems to be the recipe. That's the these women who have become successful have been following. Why would we want to follow that recipe to see where our own careers go? So again, um I outline in the hand out um some of the factors you should be thinking of and then there is this link to a survey to really get you thinking about your own networking. Thank you Diamond. I so appreciate putting the survey. Um Yeah, the survey is, is the survey link and it was was in the handout. So get both of those things. Is there are there. Um Tammy and um both know me well and know a lot of the networking um and uh things I talk about but in the five minutes we have remaining questions, comments. Uh Yes, Marie Kondo, your commitments. Listen, write down everyone, write down your big career goal, like and your career goal you might have like climbing Everest. There is the big goal at the top. But if you've ever read anything about climbing Everest, you don't just get to base camp and go to the top.

There's a lot of other goals in between with your career goals, write down your career goals and really put your commitments through a hard analysis of whether they help you reach that goal. When someone suggests to you, hey, you should join this group or you should attend this, ask questions, ask why filter through to see whether or not those commitments, conferences, committees. You take the list, ladies, you know, what takes your time? Ask how it assists in your goal?

Is it giving you information? Is it giving you uh access to critical stakeholders? Is it uh you know, attaching you and committing you to um other others who are on this similar career journey that you can help and have that peer support. Um You only have so much time in a day uh and days of the week. So really having that strategic focus, which is not being Machiavellian, which is not being smarmy networking. It is being smart. And when you're smart with your networking choices, you're being considerate and you are a better networker, but your network structure um for all of you is really, really critical. Um Fantastic um Charis, I'm really glad you're looking uh forward to diving into the handout and that handout has my contact information. So I don't even need to say to you, hey, connect with me over here, you know how to reach me. Um And I am more than happy to direct you to resources, uh make suggestions. Uh besides the things I share on my website um through my Twitter account, through my other social accounts and all the rest of it. Um and angel that you're here. Angel. I'm sorry, I don't even know when your session is um during the Women Tech Global Conference. And um my friend, I would appreciate very much if you would put that in the chat as well. So people know where they can find your amazing advice, which I personally benefited.

Um Gladys, thank you for filling out the survey. Um And uh do I have guidance on any guidelines for yourself who's linked in um request you accept? Um Listen, we all use linkedin in different ways in terms of when we throw sort of like an accordion when we throw it wide and when we close it in. So first of all realize how you use linkedin may not be how someone else uses linkedin. The second thing is I would say is a personal matter. Uh If someone reaches out to me and they do not personalize the message, I don't even give it any consideration. I just hate to leave. Um I, I, and when I say a personal message, it does not need to be long. It could be as simple as I really appreciated the comments you made at the Women Tech Global Conference. Um blah, blah, blah, like having some kind of connection there or? Hey, I heard you also speak at this conference. I'm just using myself as an example. So um I wanna it might be, it might be you. I think everybody else is, has been ok with hearing me and, and um so it might be your computer which I'm very frustrated for you if that is the case.

Um So, um oh Diamond, you're gonna get a bunch of surveys over the next few weeks to analyze your networking. And for those who have completed the survey in the f you know, the, the survey series in the future, you're gonna read the jump ahead and there's gonna be a little, you know, Jewel Box, surprise the Easter Egg there for me. Um of ways that we can personally get in touch and, and um you can share your networking feedback, but back to Anna's question on linkedin and, and I see we're, we're at time um personalize your message, um make that real human connection and you personally decide Anna where you are in your career right now, the types of connections that you feel are gonna be the best ones for your career.

Do you need to throw your network open wider? So that more people know what you're doing and create opportunities or are you important in your career or um a position that you're like, yeah. No, I need to keep this a little, little tighter. It's your personal choice. This has been a pleasure. Everyone, there's more sessions starting soon. Which, um, uh, yeah, that's brutal. That's how I keep things. That's how I think, keep things interesting. Um, uh, in terms of people connecting. So anyway, more sessions starting, you've got the handout, you know how to reach me. Um, it has been an absolute pleasure presenting here for Women Tech Global Conference. Um Wish we had more time together but fill out that survey and we will and um go forth and conquer. Uh, and, uh, I wish you all the best in your career.