Importance of Networking
Women of color who select to pursue careers in academia are faced with a myriad of barriers with a major one being isolation in their departments and their disciplines. Such isolation makes it difficult to navigate the tenure and promotion arena, opportunities for professional growth, and leadership roles. Universities always state that you have to excel in research, teaching, and service. However, the obstacles that one must overcome to excel in each of these areas, while also trying to balance your personal life is a difficult task.
It took me many years to understand how to network effectively and how to ensure that the relationships I was building were mutually beneficial to my professional career. I must admit, going through various aspects of my doctoral and postdoctoral training prepared me well to be a great researcher, but not to be a “networker”. I learned a lot through the years by trial and error. At times I felt that I knew what I was doing, and at times I had to figure it out. I hope to share some of my experiences in this chapter with the goal that the reader will find it easier to navigate the professoriate by being a strong and more equipped networker. It took me time to understand good practices for networking, and much of what I learned came from the literature by Bradford (2014); Coburn (2014); de Janasz et al. (2008); Fisher et al. (2000); Lippe-McGraw (2019); Marcus (2019) and Spurk et al. (2015), as well as personal interactions.
Figure 1. Framework for effective engagement in a social network. Engagement requires that you believe that your contributions can make a difference, and that others also believe that you can make a difference. This requires trust, feeling a sense of belonging and having the required expertise. When this is accomplished the overall relationship will have a positive impact on the networking relationship.
Figure 1 shows a general framework that may be taken into consideration for networking. A primary goal is to be engaged. Effective engagement requires that you believe you can make a difference and that others also believe that you can make a difference. The three significant components toward being able to do so require (1) trust between network members, (2) sense of belonging within a network, and (3) volunteering time and expertise. If this is successful, then the overall experience should lead to a net worth for you and you will feel that this network relationship is of benefit to you.
In my early years as a faculty member I learned of the importance of strategic plans for organizations. I immediately decided that I needed to establish a strategic plan for myself. If the success of an organization could be influenced by a strategic plan, then it was appropriate for me to establish a strategic plan to help shape the direction for my career. I found that having a strategic plan helped me conduct a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis. Knowing what I needed early on was critical to identifying what type of networks and relationships I needed to build.
I now encourage any graduate student, postdoctoral fellows, assistant professors, or anyone starting a new career path, to start by building a strategic plan that will shape the direction they wish to embark on in the next 3-5 years. Establish your goals and have a metric and a timeline to let you know how you will know when you have met these goals.
Ask yourself:
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What do you want to be known for and what type of network can help you get there?
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What type of network is valuable to you and what do you hope to gain from this network?
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Do you understand the culture of the environment you are in and how to succeed in it?
The network you build does not have to happen immediately, but it needs to happen strategically. It needs to be operational and transactional. Identify what your strengths are as well as your weaknesses. If you know your weaknesses, what type of networks will you need to build to compensate for that weakness. Identify where the opportunities are how you plan to take advantage of them. What type of networks will allow open doors for those opportunities? What are the potential threats, for example, others are there others in your field that will be competing for the same type of grants you are, and if so, how do you distinguish yourself and your work?
In addition to building your strategic plan, protect your time and make time to network. Whether it is with colleagues in your department, other units on your campus, community leaders or business leaders, make time to get to know them and have them get to know you. It is important that you spend time with others in informal settings so they can get to see who you are, learn about the great work you do, and see the value you bring to your organization or the discipline. Showcase your work and your accomplishments on your website. Keep it updated regularly because as you network people will try to read more about you. The easier you make it for them to find information that is comprehensive and in one location, the easier it will be for them to learn what you want to be known for.