WEBVTT - The New Corner Office: Be a joiner

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

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<v Speaker 1>new world of work, where location and hours are more

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<v Speaker 1>flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to be

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<v Speaker 1>a joiner. We all know that developing professional relationships is smart.

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<v Speaker 1>No one succeeds alone. We need a supportive network. People

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<v Speaker 1>create opportunities. Joining existing professional communities and get togathers is

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<v Speaker 1>a great way to grow and deepen your network. Even

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<v Speaker 1>if you tend not to be a joiner, and I

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<v Speaker 1>put myself in this category, you might want to set

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<v Speaker 1>your default in a slightly different place if you want

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<v Speaker 1>to succeed as a remote worker. When you work in

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<v Speaker 1>an office, you have a natural professional community. You work

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<v Speaker 1>side by side with people five days a week. You

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<v Speaker 1>get coffee with these peo people, eat lunch with these people,

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<v Speaker 1>see these people while washing your hands in the restroom.

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<v Speaker 1>All these casual interactions build bonds. When you work remotely,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of this disappears now. To be clear, it

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<v Speaker 1>is very possible for remote workers to be social. We've

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<v Speaker 1>done episodes in the past on starting virtual meetings with chitchat,

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<v Speaker 1>about picking up the phone to call colleagues or direct

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<v Speaker 1>reports after a meeting about creating virtual book clubs and

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<v Speaker 1>so forth. I also want to stress that very few

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<v Speaker 1>jobs are truly one hundred percent remote. Most distributed companies

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<v Speaker 1>bring people together at least once a year or so

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<v Speaker 1>for in person connection. Many do it more frequently, and

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<v Speaker 1>many companies opt for a hybrid model two to three

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<v Speaker 1>days per week at home two to three days at

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<v Speaker 1>the office. That said, when you work remotely, it's easier

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<v Speaker 1>to feel disconnected and harder to ensure other people keep

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<v Speaker 1>you and your work on their minds. Remote workers have

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<v Speaker 1>to be more thoughtful and strictgic about forming and nurturing

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<v Speaker 1>professional relationships. Being a joiner lets you plug into a

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<v Speaker 1>network that already exists, and that network can be a

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<v Speaker 1>springboard for developing more meaningful relationships, So ask around. My

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<v Speaker 1>guess is that you already know the main organizations in

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<v Speaker 1>your industry, but maybe there are smaller ones that colleagues

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<v Speaker 1>or friends have joined. In general, if there is an

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<v Speaker 1>organization that seems like it might be valuable, I would

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<v Speaker 1>err on the side of joining it. Why not You

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<v Speaker 1>can usually cancel your membership after a bit, and you

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<v Speaker 1>seldom have to spend much time on any given group,

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<v Speaker 1>but it might be worth trying one out to see

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<v Speaker 1>if it's a real winner. And the good news is

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<v Speaker 1>that if you work from home, this can feel like

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit less of a burden, even if you

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<v Speaker 1>are introverted like me. After a long day of talking

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<v Speaker 1>to people in person, I usually want to go sit

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<v Speaker 1>in a room all by myself. I do not want

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<v Speaker 1>to go to another meeting and wear a name, even

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<v Speaker 1>if cocktails are involved. But if I've been by myself

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<v Speaker 1>in my office all day, that's a different matter. An

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<v Speaker 1>afternoon zoom call with a few professional acquaintances can be

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<v Speaker 1>a nice change of pace and a chance to say hello,

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<v Speaker 1>so try it out. One good way to get involved

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<v Speaker 1>quickly is to volunteer with any annual conferences, even if

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<v Speaker 1>they are virtual these days. You'll get to know the

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<v Speaker 1>leadership in the big name people who are invited to present.

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<v Speaker 1>This can be a lot of networking upside for a

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<v Speaker 1>small amount of work. Then, as you see how things

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<v Speaker 1>operate and what the needs might be, you can see

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<v Speaker 1>how you can make the group even more useful to you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can suggest an event or organize it yourself, whether

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<v Speaker 1>that's a Q and A with a favorite author, a

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<v Speaker 1>class about a particular skill, you name it. You might

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<v Speaker 1>also consider joining some groups that are not specific to

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<v Speaker 1>your industry. One upside of local chambers of commerce or

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<v Speaker 1>professional women's networking groups and the like is that you

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<v Speaker 1>meet people in lots of different lines of work. This

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<v Speaker 1>can help build an even more robust network with future

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<v Speaker 1>investors for your startup, clients for your business, and maybe

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<v Speaker 1>even a future colleague in a new career. That's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of possibility for attending a lunch every other month,

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<v Speaker 1>so on the margin, be a joiner. In tomorrow's episode,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll talk about work friendships, which is a slightly different matter.

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<v Speaker 1>While with friendships, I suspect that people do better with

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<v Speaker 1>a small number of tight acquaintances versus a big pool

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<v Speaker 1>of more tangential ones, this is not always the case

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<v Speaker 1>with professional networks. Joining multiple groups lets you take the

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<v Speaker 1>pulse of your industry and learn about all that's going on,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's not a whole lot of downside to that,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's probably worth the membership fees. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding

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<v Speaker 1>in the new corner. Office. The new Corner Office is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.