When people think of their professional network, they often think of it in terms of job hunting. After all, networks can be valuable resources for finding a new job. But that’s far from all that professional networks are good for. In fact, your professional network can serve you at every stage of your career, from when you’re planting the metaphorical seeds of a great career to when you’re clearing the weeds, to when you reap a bountiful harvest (which you should share, by the way). Leadership coaching may not focus heavily on professional networking, but any leadership coach will tell you that the leader with a strong professional network is likely to outperform the leader who doesn’t have one. Here’s why you should never stop building your professional network and how to do it.

Networks benefit professionals at every stage of their career.

How to Expand Your Professional Network

Perhaps you’re fresh out of school, or have changed industries mid-career. How do you begin to build a professional network that will both serve you well and to which you will be a valuable contributor? Your earliest contacts in your industry – which may include professors or intern supervisors if you’re just starting a career – should deliberately be added to your professional network. LinkedIn is a good platform for doing this, because it sets your professional social contacts apart from your personal contacts, even if some of those people fit into both contexts. Volunteering in industry organizations is another terrific way to expand your professional network. Joining industry associations is a good first step, and beyond that, you can introduce yourself and offer your services to help the association, whether that’s your exceptional organizing skills, your stellar note-taking skills, or even your valuable contacts in the media.

How to Tend to Your Professional Network

You can no more create a professional network and leave it to its own devices than you can plant a garden and then neglect it. Either way, the results will be largely useless. It’s important to create your own strategy for keeping in touch with the people in your network. Some people do this by dropping people a message on a regular basis, by publishing a blog on relevant industry topics, or with the old-fashioned approach of giving people a call now and again to check in. Maintaining your professional network also helps you stay informed about things like who has left the industry or retired, and who some of the newcomers to the industry are. Introduce yourself to the new people, and they are likelier to remember you and be grateful that you reached out to them.

Maintaining your network often naturally leads to expanding it too.

Look for ways You Can Add Value to Your Network

When the topic of networking arises, I always emphasize to my executive coaching clients that you need to give to a network at least as much as you take from it. Connecting colleagues who don’t know each other, but who could benefit from the professional connection is one way. Another is to share relevant content with your professional network. Maybe someone you work with has been in the news after an exciting breakthrough. You can share this information for those who might not encounter the news otherwise. You can also add tremendous value to your network simply by setting a good example. Conducting yourself in a friendly, professional, open manner both online and in person strengthens your bonds with your professional network, and helps ensure that people remember you for all the right reasons.

Your Network Is an Invaluable Resource and Asset

When we think of our professional resources and assets, often we think of things like our college degrees or our track record of technical publications. These are crucial, of course, but it’s easy to forget that our professional network can be one of our most treasured resources and one of our most valuable assets as a professional. I can tell you from my work in leadership coaching that the leaders with strong networks are more respected and get better results than those that don’t bother to maintain a strong professional network. And if you realize that you haven’t been doing your part to strengthen your network, you can start doing so today and start reaping the benefits sooner than you may think.

The leader who sees the leadership position as little more than the chance to bask in glory is in for a rude awakening sooner or later.  While there is absolutely nothing wrong in celebrating accomplishments, ultimately leadership is about the organization being led: is it better or worse because of this leader? Sometimes leadership requires that other people or other situations take center stage. It probably wasn’t long after early humans learned to make fire that the leader of a tribe learned that by holding the torch higher, shedding less light on themselves, they simultaneously created more light for the tribe, to the benefit of everyone.

Leaders cannot forget that they are leading others, and are ultimately there so the organization benefits.

Throughout history, the most outstanding leaders have had some understanding of the significantly longer reputation that comes from letting their actions speak for them. To this day we know relatively little about William Shakespeare, for example, and yet his words transformed the English language, and people still regularly use expressions and quote attributed to his work.

It’s About More Than Just Delegation

One important task of leadership coaching is that of helping a client develop their delegation skills. No modern organization has the time or patience for a micromanager in a top leadership position. But delegation isn’t precisely the same thing as knowing when to step back. There will be occasions where a leader must perhaps swallow their pride and understand that having a particular team member put their skill in a specific area to work is the best choice for everyone involved. For example, you may be a respected lead mechanic, but when a rare, specialty vehicle comes in for service, you realize the value of placing your mechanic who has experience with that particular model in charge of the work.

Sometimes Stepping Back Is an Effective Way to Break Gridlock

Another skill executive coaching clients sometimes seek help with is that of the paradox of too many cooks spoiling the broth. This sometimes manifests as gridlock, because too many people have too much stake in an outcome. There may come a day when a leader must evaluate a situation and its participants, and be brave enough to say, in so many words, “We’ve tried it this way, and it isn’t working. Let’s all step back and try it Brenda’s way this time.” Breaking gridlock can lead to some grumbling, but it is often necessary to get a team moving forward again, and stepping back from a situation can sometimes be the act that finally breaks the gridlock.

Sometimes the only thing that breaks gridlock is someone’s willingness to day, “You know, I don’t have to be first.”

Stepping Up Can Mean Stepping Back

Think about it. Stepping up to a task often means tackling a task that no one else is willing to do, and sometimes that “task” is acknowledging that things need to be done differently. Nobody wants to say it, and it may be up to a leader to officially recognize that things aren’t working and they need to change.

Often closely choreographed with stepping up is stepping back, however paradoxical that may seem. Stepping back is ensuring that others have the space to do their part and shine. In other words, “I’m willing to step up and work with this difficult client, but that means I need you, William, to create a prototype logo by the deadline, and I need you, Harriet, to set up their payment schedule so I can present it to them when I call.” Stepping up and stepping back is a way of letting team members know that we are all in this together.

Succession and Development of New Leaders is Indispensable to Your Legacy

Perhaps the main reason that leaders must learn when to step back and let others shine is for the good of the organization, and to build a lasting legacy. A leader who is so overpoweringly great and whose shoes no one would dare to fill can leave a dangerous power vacuum when they retire or move on. Leadership coaching professionals often work with clients on the importance of development of emerging leaders and the importance of legacy. Most of the time leadership is exactly that – leading a team to great things. But knowing when it’s best to let someone else make the accomplishment (and receive recognition for it) is in the best interests of the team, the organization, and ultimately the leader.

Working on your leadership skills is beneficial regardless of where you are on the company hierarchy. That’s because opportunities to lead exist in just about every occupational level as well as in ordinary non-working life. Maybe you don’t plan to make public speaking a regular endeavor, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t benefit from developing public speaking skills. And if you’re not sure where to start, you can look at local continuing education courses at community colleges and other institutes of higher learning. Additionally, toastmasters International has clubs all over the world, and joining is affordable for most people.

However impromptu or informal a presentation is, it benefits from your having strong public speaking skills.

Some people develop public speaking skills more organically, by looking for opportunities in their work and lives and taking them. There are plenty of excellent online resources, including instructional videos that can help tremendously. And when you develop your public speaking skills, you develop your leadership skills at the same time. Here’s how.

Public Speaking Skills and General Comportment

The concept of “comportment” isn’t typically taught in schools, but it’s important nonetheless. It is how you carry and conduct yourself and is closely related to the general concept of “having good manners,” which isn’t so much about using the correct fork as it is about helping others feel comfortable in your presence. Excellent public speakers don’t earn their reputation from making people feel ill at ease. The best public speakers know how to put their audience at ease and connect with them. If you can do that with a conference room full of people, a sanctuary full of churchgoers, or an auditorium full of people who want to hear your technical presentation, you can do it in your everyday life, on and off the job. And it makes you stand out from the rest subtly, but positively.

Building Confidence Through Public Speaking

Fear of public speaking is common. Rare is even the most accomplished public speaker who doesn’t feel some level of anxiety before speaking in front of a group. But learning the principles of excellent public speaking and then practicing them regularly is almost unbeatable as a confidence builder. Knowing that you delivered a successful wedding toast or taught a skill to a room full of co-workers carries over when you have to speak with an unhappy client or discuss a problem with a project manager. In my work as a business coach, while we don’t often explicitly work on building a client’s confidence, that’s what we’re actually doing when working on skills development and addressing skills gaps. Self-confidence is like any other skill in that it requires practice, and what better practice opportunity than public speaking?

Every speaking opportunity is a chance to improve your self-confidence.

Networking Opportunities Often Go with Public Speaking

Whether you are speaking to a group of co-workers, a technical conference, a civic organization, or a group of people gathered to celebrate your boss’s retirement, you’re likely to encounter opportunities to network with new people and strengthen your existing network. Introducing yourself to other participants on such occasions has added impact and makes you more memorable. Networking is a key leadership skill that many of the best business speakers and leaders have, and indeed it is something that business coaches often work on with their clients. Networks (personal and professional) are like gardens in that they have to be tended to bear fruit.

General Communication Skills Benefit Too

When you learn public speaking, you learn how to organize your thoughts concisely and coherently. Getting up and rambling on about something is not the same as true public speaking. The best public speakers have meticulously organized their words in a framework that allows them to tailor details of their presentation to the audience. Knowing how to do this is important not only in public speaking, but in business writing and your day-to-day communication in general. Have you ever been in a position to evaluate people’s work performance? If so, you probably know that an employee with exemplary communication skills is head and shoulders above an equally qualified employee whose communication skills are lacking.

If you are working toward a top leadership position in your profession, or even if you are simply interested in maximizing your professional potential wherever it takes you, developing public speaking skills is well worth your time and effort. The public speaking skills I have developed in my years as a keynote speaker have carried over into every area of my life, including my work as a business coach.

Having great leadership in place is, of course, indispensable to operating a successful organization. But equally as important is being able to recognize emerging talent and envision a possible leadership role for these leadership-oriented people in the organization. Raw talent is necessary for successful leadership, but it isn’t enough. There’s such a thing as readiness to lead, and current leaders and decision makers need to know how to recognize it. Promoting someone prematurely (even if they show immense promise) is like picking non-ripe fruit and expecting it to improve dinner. It may be beautiful and promise good things, but its time has not yet come. Leaders in the making can benefit from executive coaching, but time alone will dictate when an emerging leader is really ready to lead. Here are some ways you can tell if someone who shows promise is ready to be a leader.

Do They Demonstrate Integrity?

If there is a single most important quality that demonstrates someone is ready for leadership, it is integrity. People with integrity are “whole” in the sense that they understand themselves, know their strengths, know their weaknesses, and aren’t ashamed to admit they’re far from perfect. Integrity is largely about self-honesty, and if someone can’t be honest with themselves, how can anyone expect them to be honest with everyone else? Integrity does not mean that a person has reached the pinnacle of accomplishment, only that they know who they are and what they’re about, and they don’t mentally view themselves with a distorted mirror. Without integrity, the other characteristics of great leaders can’t deliver.

Do They Encourage and Embrace Learning and Curiosity?

Not only should leaders encourage their team members and direct reports to continue to learn and grow mentally, spiritually, and intellectually, they should strive to do the same for themselves. Constancy of underlying principles is important, but so is the realization that change is inevitable, and there is always something to learn or improve at. If a purported leader thinks they have reached the summit and no longer need to reach beyond their grasp, they’re not good for long-term organizational success.

Leaders embrace learning and encourage it in others. 

Do They Already Function as a Manager for All Intents and Purposes?

Have you ever had a department grow rapidly and then watch someone emerge from the ranks and take it upon themselves to lead even without a promotion or change in job title? These people can make outstanding leaders because they understand that while “leadership” as a concept is important, it is the verb from of the word (“to lead”) that is where results happen or don’t happen. A person who functions as a well-liked manager when they see that management and leadership are necessary is a person who is likelier to be ready for the job title to match.

Do They Volunteer for Tough Jobs, or Jobs Nobody Wants?

Of course everyone is going to volunteer for the project that involves traveling to Hawaii or working with a well-known person. But what about the person who is willing to take on the jobs that are necessary, but not glamorous? The people who are at the top of their competency can work magic in a wide range of circumstances. A gifted pianist can make wonderful music with a neglected, dusty piano stored in a back room, just like a top soccer player can set up a great game on a vacant lot with a couple of traffic cones marking the goals.

Look for the people who are willing to get in there and take the jobs no one else will take because they’re complicated, potentially boring, or promise no glory. These are the people who know how to make the most of a situation, and it’s good to have them as leaders. A CEO coach can only do so much with someone who got the job before they were ready. And while an executive coach can work with just about anyone and get results, true leadership must be ready to come into its own before the real leadership magic can happen.

Business speakers are capable of leaving an audience changed in some fundamental way from how they were before the presentation. That said, they’re not mages, and they’re not miracle workers.

You can’t expect even the best speaker to miraculously fix an organization that has major problems.

Even the most accomplished business speakers can’t singlehandedly turn around a faltering organization. If the people are burned out, tired of being led on by incompetent management, or are experiencing the throes of economic problems or other disasters, you can’t expect to bring in a keynote speaker and have everything be better afterward.

But if your expectations make sense, and you use business speakers along with smart planning and strategy executed under strong leadership, those business speakers can make an impact that lasts, helping catalyze real change and helping team members find the spark of motivation that will help them persevere.

Sometimes a Different Point of View Makes All the Difference

Sometimes businesses develop such an insular point of view that it’s impossible for the rank and file to see any other way of doing things. This can become problematic when the way they do things leads to diminishing results or competitors moving ahead. Business speakers with a radically different, yet applicable point of view can often be the thing that shakes people out of their complacency.

Seeing someone they wouldn’t normally see bring their own experiences and point of view to the stage can help pry people out of mental ruts they have dug themselves into – ruts that don’t allow for much in the way of inspiration or motivation. Employees who are jaded with the status quo and skeptical about a keynote speaker may find themselves unexpectedly turning the other cheek – and looking in a new direction.

Inspiration without Making Audience Members Feel Like Failures

Choosing business speakers should also be tempered by realism. Yes, it could be inspiring for your workforce to learn from the source what it’s like to be an astronaut, scale Everest, or execute a miraculous mission behind enemy lines. But there are situations where such a monumentally inspiring person unwittingly makes the audience feel like a bunch of unmotivated slackers who will never amount to anything.

If you’re struggling with an unmotivated workforce, or are in a troubled industry, you’re better off choosing a keynote speaker or business speaker who is inspirational, yet relatable. Someone who has had their share of disappointments and failures, yet who has persisted and overcome similar obstacles to the ones the audience members face.

An effective speaker is one who reaches people where they are and offers a new point of view.

Other Things Businesses Must Do for Positive Transformation

Business speakers can make the greatest lasting impact when the audience doesn’t just leave the venue and go right back to the way things were. Fundamental organizational transformation is also necessary. Be assured: organizational change will happen whether you want it to or not, and for it to be positive, leaders must be willing to work to make change positive.

Primarily, this means they must commit themselves to clear, regular, constructive communication throughout the organization. They must encourage the frontline team members, learn how to delegate well and trust their best team members. They should not squash social interaction among team members, but realize that social interaction is an emollient that helps all the moving parts of the operation keep from getting gummed up.

Finally, leaders must ensure that employees have access to the training and development opportunities they need to excel and advance. No one wants to feel like they’re stuck in a dead-end job with no opportunities for something better or more challenging.

Business speakers can and do make a lasting impact on businesses and other organizations. Most people who have been in a career for any length of time can remember at least one or two business speakers who made a lasting impact on them. They will have the most lasting and positive effect if they are chosen wisely, and if they are only part of an overall organizational commitment to positive culture transformation. In these cases, the results can be astounding.

In my career as a keynote speaker, executive coach, and cultural transformation consultant, I have seen business transformation from multiple angles. I’ve learned that no person can magically initiate transformation without commitment from others as well as outstanding leadership. If your organization is on the threshold of transformation and you’re determined that it will be a positive transformation, I encourage you to check out my speaking and training services.