Anyone who has been following me for any time will have often heard me say: Your Network is Your Net-worth.

What this means is that it’s not what you know that is most important to your career development, but who you know. In other words, it’s not only what you know that will create your success, but who you know.

The people in your network, therefore, are extremely valuable to you. The quality of those people – their reputation and profile, their experience, their wisdom, their reach into the wider community and who they know that they can introduce you to – is a measure of your net-worth.

This is why people invest time, energy and money in networking, in building connections and relationships with people outside their workplace, in external networking, in other words.

Your internal networks are important too. Don’t forget to build them too.

I want to remind you today of the importance of building your internal networks within your organisation.

Who are the people within your organisation who have most power to influence the development of your career?

Who are the people in your organisation you most admire and whom you would most like to emulate?

Do you know these people?

Have you ever spoken to them?

Have you even tried to build a relationship with them?

Have you ever asked them for help or support?

Have you ever asked for their opinion on something?

Have you shown any interest in their lives outside of work and what’s important to them?

Have you ever asked them if you could work with them on a project, or shadow them in something they are doing?

These internal networks are very important.

My Motivational Challenge for You This Week

Take time to discover who these people are in your organisation and begin to build your internal networks. Build genuine and purposeful relationships with people in your organisation who can help you advance your career, who can advise, coach and mentor you and ultimately may introduce you to their networks of influence. It will also enhance your relationships with your colleagues.