In our recent interview with Dr David Fraser, Karen and I asked David about how people in career transition can make the most of their extended networks – friends, colleagues past and present, family, and even your hairdresser, butcher or postman.
David’s advice was to see every person as an individual, just like you, and therefore to build relationships with everyone. He recommended working from a belief that people are pleased to help. If you think about it, when someone asks you for help, on the whole you will do what you can for them. It’s the same the other way around.
If you need information, or to be introduced to someone, or even some practical support, the chances are that there is someone in your extended network who can give you exactly what you want, if only you ask for it.
We asked David whether this means that you get into the situation of trading favours, with one person being in another person’s debt if they have accepted some help.
David was forthright in disagreeing with this! He described the concept of pay it forward, sometimes also expressed as what goes around, comes around. With this mind-set, when you offer help to someone, you do so without any expectation of being paid back, but instead, you simply ask that the recipient pays it forward – whenever they can do something help for another person, then they should. In this way, everyone benefits.
Action points:
- What help do you need? Who can you ask for it?
- If someone has done something for you, how can you pay it forward? Who else will benefit from your assistance?
Leading For Transformation 