1 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:09,959 Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office, 2 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to be 5 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: a joiner. We all know that developing professional relationships is smart. 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: No one succeeds alone. We need a supportive network. People 7 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: create opportunities. Joining existing professional communities and get togathers is 8 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: a great way to grow and deepen your network. Even 9 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: if you tend not to be a joiner, and I 10 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 1: put myself in this category, you might want to set 11 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: your default in a slightly different place if you want 12 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: to succeed as a remote worker. When you work in 13 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: an office, you have a natural professional community. You work 14 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: side by side with people five days a week. You 15 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: get coffee with these peo people, eat lunch with these people, 16 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: see these people while washing your hands in the restroom. 17 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: All these casual interactions build bonds. When you work remotely, 18 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: a lot of this disappears now. To be clear, it 19 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,559 Speaker 1: is very possible for remote workers to be social. We've 20 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: done episodes in the past on starting virtual meetings with chitchat, 21 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: about picking up the phone to call colleagues or direct 22 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: reports after a meeting about creating virtual book clubs and 23 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,759 Speaker 1: so forth. I also want to stress that very few 24 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: jobs are truly one hundred percent remote. Most distributed companies 25 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: bring people together at least once a year or so 26 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: for in person connection. Many do it more frequently, and 27 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: many companies opt for a hybrid model two to three 28 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: days per week at home two to three days at 29 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: the office. That said, when you work remotely, it's easier 30 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: to feel disconnected and harder to ensure other people keep 31 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: you and your work on their minds. Remote workers have 32 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: to be more thoughtful and strictgic about forming and nurturing 33 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: professional relationships. Being a joiner lets you plug into a 34 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: network that already exists, and that network can be a 35 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: springboard for developing more meaningful relationships, So ask around. My 36 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: guess is that you already know the main organizations in 37 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,239 Speaker 1: your industry, but maybe there are smaller ones that colleagues 38 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: or friends have joined. In general, if there is an 39 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: organization that seems like it might be valuable, I would 40 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: err on the side of joining it. Why not You 41 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: can usually cancel your membership after a bit, and you 42 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: seldom have to spend much time on any given group, 43 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 1: but it might be worth trying one out to see 44 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: if it's a real winner. And the good news is 45 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: that if you work from home, this can feel like 46 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: a little bit less of a burden, even if you 47 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: are introverted like me. After a long day of talking 48 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,119 Speaker 1: to people in person, I usually want to go sit 49 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: in a room all by myself. I do not want 50 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: to go to another meeting and wear a name, even 51 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: if cocktails are involved. But if I've been by myself 52 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: in my office all day, that's a different matter. An 53 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: afternoon zoom call with a few professional acquaintances can be 54 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: a nice change of pace and a chance to say hello, 55 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: so try it out. One good way to get involved 56 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: quickly is to volunteer with any annual conferences, even if 57 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: they are virtual these days. You'll get to know the 58 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 1: leadership in the big name people who are invited to present. 59 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: This can be a lot of networking upside for a 60 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: small amount of work. Then, as you see how things 61 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: operate and what the needs might be, you can see 62 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: how you can make the group even more useful to you. 63 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: You can suggest an event or organize it yourself, whether 64 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: that's a Q and A with a favorite author, a 65 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: class about a particular skill, you name it. You might 66 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: also consider joining some groups that are not specific to 67 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: your industry. One upside of local chambers of commerce or 68 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: professional women's networking groups and the like is that you 69 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: meet people in lots of different lines of work. This 70 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: can help build an even more robust network with future 71 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: investors for your startup, clients for your business, and maybe 72 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: even a future colleague in a new career. That's a 73 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,480 Speaker 1: lot of possibility for attending a lunch every other month, 74 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: so on the margin, be a joiner. In tomorrow's episode, 75 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:26,239 Speaker 1: we'll talk about work friendships, which is a slightly different matter. 76 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,359 Speaker 1: While with friendships, I suspect that people do better with 77 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: a small number of tight acquaintances versus a big pool 78 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: of more tangential ones, this is not always the case 79 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: with professional networks. Joining multiple groups lets you take the 80 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: pulse of your industry and learn about all that's going on, 81 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: and there's not a whole lot of downside to that, 82 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 1: so it's probably worth the membership fees. In the meantime, 83 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,919 Speaker 1: this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding 84 00:04:55,400 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: in the new corner. Office. The new Corner Office is 85 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:06,679 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app, 86 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.