Why Your Network Matters

I moved to New Zealand almost 15 years ago. I found myself in a new country, with no track record, no real understanding of the business or cultural landscape, and no real idea of where to begin. I was starting afresh. It was a little lonely, and more than a little scary.

Back then, my network here consisted of five people.

Since then, every job I have got, every client I have worked with, and every opportunity that I’ve been fortunate enough to be presented with can, in some way, be traced back to those five people.

When I arrived, they were the ones who introduced me to others. I invested time and energy to meet with every single person, and from there I got introduced to even more people. My network slowly grew as I built relationships based on mutual trust and value. I began to learn where I fit in, and how I could make a difference.

15 years later, I find myself in a position where I feel a part of a rich, dynamic network of diverse people from across the country (and the world). People who I can call on, and people who call on me. People who I can learn from, and people who can learn from me. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to those first five people.

Now I work with leaders and change makers across the societal spectrum. I love working with people who have an inspired idea about the change they want to make happen with their teams, their organisations or their community. One of the most common barriers they face comes down to how well connected they are. “I feel like a lone voice!” is such a common lament. Yes. Leading anything is hard if it’s just about you.

If there’s one thing I have learned about how to create positive change is that you can’t do it alone. You need people with you. It’s only when you connect with others that you can make any sort of positive change happen.

You already have a network. Is it the one you need?

Your network is simply the sum total of the people you have relationships with. If you want to create positive change, the first step is to know who your key people are and how you can help each other.

In the Change Makers community, we focus on helping people deliberately cultivate relationships and the networks that result from them. One of our ‘secret tools’ is the Network Diagnostic. It’s a simple tool to help you map the people in your network and identify the roles they can play.

If you’d like a free copy of the Network Diagnostic, along with four other powerful, practical tools that we use to help make change happen, then click here. Then I’ll share with you a free tool a week for the next four weeks.

All of these tools are core toChange Makers Kick Start: a five-week online course + thriving community. Our next course kicks off on 2 May. If you’re keen to learn more and sign up, you can learn more here.