For many executives and senior professionals, networking has become synonymous with attending industry events, making introductions, and maintaining a visible presence on LinkedIn. While these activities can create opportunities, they often overshadow the more important purpose of professional networking: developing meaningful relationships that provide perspective, support, and opportunities throughout a career.
At Centennial, we regularly see how the strength of a leader’s professional network influences career transitions, executive recruiting opportunities, and long-term professional growth. Some of the most valuable connections develop over years of shared experiences, thoughtful conversations, and genuine interest in others. They rarely depend on how many people someone meets at an event or how comfortably they can work a room.
This is particularly encouraging for introverted leaders who may view networking as an activity better suited to outgoing personalities. In reality, the qualities that often characterize introverts, including careful listening, thoughtful questions, and a preference for deeper conversations, can be significant advantages when building lasting professional relationships.
Our longtime colleague Julie Bauke, President of The Bauke Group, has shared valuable career advice with Centennial and our network over the years. Her perspective on networking challenges a common misconception about what it takes to build strong professional connections. Although she originally shared these insights several years ago, her message remains especially relevant for executives who recognize the importance of developing relationships before they need to rely on them.
We are pleased to revisit Julie’s original article and her reminder that effective networking has much more to do with the quality of our relationships than the size of our personalities.
Introverts Can Network Effectively! Really!
I know, I know. You hate it, you avoid it, you think you can’t do it so you don’t or won’t.
If that sounds like you, get ready to fall short of your career goals. Hear me out. I think the issue is that most people have a really skewed view of what networking is.
Networking is the building of mutually beneficial relationships that support our goals.
Notice that there is nothing in that definition about small talk with strangers, collecting business cards, or attending an event during which you consider sticking your fork in your eye so you can leave? I am actually talking about real relationships with people you know or people you meet in the course of your business.
Step back for a minute. What are your business goals? Your professional goals? How do you plan to accomplish those goals? If you’ve given little or no thought to any of those questions, you are overdue to step back and consider them.
Many highly accomplished professionals find themselves without a network when they need it most. It’s no secret that the market is volatile, making the career market volatile as well. You would be well served to actively cultivate a network before you need it. But networking is not just a job search strategy. Make that mistake at your own peril.
Want to move up in your organization? Recover from a recent rejection? Build a reputation in your community? Re-configure your work life due to a change in your personal life? Thinking ahead to retirement? A job or career change? Given that we get things done through others, the relationships we build are clearly critical to reaching our goals.
Now I’m going to get really radical here and say that Introverts have the ability to be better networkers than extroverts. Yep. It’s true.
If you buy my definition, then you will also buy that we can’t build mutually beneficial relationships without LISTENING. And you know that introverts are often better listeners.
Your ability to build and maintain key relationships is critical – relationships inside your department, cross-functionally, with professionals in other organizations in similar roles, with recruiters, etc. To a great extent, you are the product. And in your relationships, you teach people who you are, what you do, what your organization does, what your goals are- and you learn theirs.
Written by Julie Bauke
Julie Bauke is the President of The Bauke Group, a Career Happiness Firm.