Advancing Your Career While Helping Others  

As we advance through our careers, pressure builds to “make a name for ourselves.” We report on our measurable contributions during annual reviews and update our LinkedIn profiles with recent accomplishments, but along the hard road to professional success, many women realize that one of their greatest achievements is helping others pursue their goals.

Encouraging others to realize their potential can take various forms from leading professional development seminars to offering individual coaching and mentoring. I’ve found the greatest enjoyment and value — for both my career and for those I seek to help — comes in playing the role of convener.

Conveners bring people together to network, address shared challenges, and imagine opportunities. They don’t always have the solution, but they know how to put the right people together to look for one. In the process, conveners get to impart knowledge and experience while also learning from others and expanding their own networks.

Playing the role of convener can contribute to building your personal brand. You get to drive the conversation to topics you want to be associated with and issues you consider important. For example, I want to be recognized as someone who works to advance women in the workplace, so I’ve convened groups to talk about getting increasing gender equity on corporate boards as well as how to balance career growth with caring for aging parents — a responsibility that often falls to the female in the family.

Want to try your hand at being a convener? Here are some tips on getting started:

Map your contacts

While connecting people to one another is an art, it starts with a little science — or at least a spreadsheet. Create a list of key people in your personal and professional network. This is not your holiday card list, although there will likely be some overlap. It’s an accounting of the people you are “willing to go the extra mile” to help and those who could help you someday, or perhaps already have.

Create columns to track your contact’s current occupation, when you were in touch most recently, the nature of the contact, any issues of interest or concern they’ve noted, and next steps in nurturing the relationship. You will use this list again and again as you begin convening individuals, so keep it up to date and add names as your network expands.

Determine your objectives

As you begin planning a specific convening, be intentional about your objectives. What do you want to accomplish by bringing this group together? Are you looking for a new way to get in front of existing clients or trying to expand your prospects? Are you hoping to demonstrate your thought leadership on a particular topic?

Consider also the needs of your potential guests. What issues are your colleagues and those in your professional network grappling with? Is there a subject-matter expert among your friends, such as a recruiter who could help address how best to present yourself as a candidate or a doctor who could talk about trends in integrated health care? The answer to these questions will help guide who you plan to convene and for what stated purpose.

As an example, I recently partnered with a friend in communications to convene an intimate dinner for professionals in our field. We each invited existing clients as well as a few prospects. Our eight guests were invited to briefly share a communications challenge and gain fast feedback from others at the table. The conversation was high energy and enlightening for both those sharing challenges as well as the others who offered thoughtful options. I know of at least five follow-up meetings that occurred as a result of the dinner with three business opportunities for me and my friend.

Host a salon

There are numerous ways to convene individuals. A salon-style event in which you gather guests for an intimate discussion on a common topic over a good meal is a great way to connect folks who can personally or professionally support one another. Consider grouping people in similar industries, as I did with the group of communications professionals, or bringing together individuals at similar junctures in their career.  The ideal group size is ten to fifteen, which allows everyone a chance to engage in the conversation. If you have the means to provide the meal, great, but pot luck is also fine. One salon I belong to meets every other month with the hostess providing a simple meal strictly limited to wine, chocolate, and cheese.

If you are feeling really ambitious, consider planning a retreat on a topic or theme.  I once hosted 25 women at a Washington, D.C bed-and-breakfast for a weekend of workshops and guest speakers on how to set and achieve personal goals. The agenda also included a guided neighborhood tour and relaxation time. We concluded with my guy friends serving drinks and playing music. Attendees left refreshed, recharged, and with new friendships. I also learned something that has stuck with me to this day — that even the most ambitious women with clear goals often struggle with knowing who and how to ask for help. That takeaway has informed my passion for convening.

Start a network

Lots of people talk about taking action on an issue or concern, but few take the step to bring together those with the passion and commitment to make something happen. Be the one who brings like-minded people together to address a common concern, such as how to encourage more women to run for office. Perhaps you can convene a referral network, allowing one or two members each meeting the option to share their elevator pitch and get business-development ideas.

If you convene a network, you don’t have to volunteer to do everything — just take the first step to organize the meeting, facilitate a meaningful dialogue, and conclude the gathering with concrete next steps. Be the keeper of the attendee list, adding suggested guests for future gatherings so that you can keep yourself in the center of the network as it evolves.

Regardless of the convening style you favor, expect to feel rewarded as folks eagerly swap contact information and insist on a follow-up event. Don’t leave things to chance as the value of playing the role of convener comes as much in the follow-through as in the event itself. Move quickly to reconnect individually with attendees and, perhaps, reconvene the group as a whole.